The DigiDestined Minus One
by Yami Hime Hikari
Summary: Completely AU. What would happen if Hikari disappeared long before that fateful summer camp? What would be different? How would the Destined themselves be different? Would Taichi still be *capable* of being a leader?
1. Chapter One

Okay, this is a "What if?" fic. As in… what if the kids _didn't_ find the eighth child? What if Gatomon only _pretended_ to serve Myotismon? What if Kari disappeared _before_ season one? How would everyone cope? What would Taichi do? That sort of thing.

Why am I writing this? Well, I got bored and decided to write my own "What if" fic. Yes, it is greatly influenced by **Lady Ophelia**'s "The Road Not Taken" fic and I recommend it to anyone and everyone! Rather, I would if she hadn't discontinued it… It was so good, too. Oh well. That's life. I'm making up the parents' names because I have _no_ idea what they might be. You have been warned.

**Disclaimer:** If I owned Digimon, I would have more than… five cents to my name. And all I have is five cents. So do I own Digimon? No, I don't!

**The Digidestined Minus One**

**Chapter One**

"Taichi!" Yagami Lily shouted. "Are you picking on your sister again?"

"No, Mom, I'm not," the six-year-old brunette with spiky hair called to his mother in the kitchen. His little sister, Hikari, had actually been picking on _him_. But when he had pinched her in retaliation, his mother had caught them and had grounded him.

Kari, of course, had gotten off scot-free. She'd tried to ease the punishment by saying it was her fault Tai had pinched her, but their mother had run for the oven, which was setting the fire alarm off, not hearing them.

Lily pulled the pan out, smoke rising from the blackened mess that was supposed to be their dinner. With a sigh, she turned the pan upside down and shook it. Nothing. The mess didn't even budge.

With a mischievous glance at the hopeful looks on the faces of her children in the living room, she dumped the food, pan and all, into the trash can.

"Who's up for pizza?" she asked.

Her children cheered.

"Extra cheese!" Kari shouted.

"No! Pepperoni!" her brother retaliated.

"Stupid Tai! Cheese!"

"Pepperoni!"

"Cheese!"

"How about we get half-and-half?" Lily suggested, intervening before the argument could get out of hand.

"YAY!" they shouted before hugging their mother and retreating to their shared room.

"How do I do it?" she murmured to herself as she pulled out the phone book. "Mother, chef, chief diplomat…?"

——————————

"Yama," a little voice whispered as a hand tugged on the blonde's shirt.

"What is it, TK?" Ishida Matt asked, rubbing sleep out of his tired eyes.

"The bad's coming," the younger blonde whimpered. "The bad's coming, Yama." Something was wrong. TK only called him 'Yama' when he was really, really, _really_ scared.

"What's the bad?" Matt mumbled, blinking in the harsh light of the light bulb little Takeru had just flicked on over his head. They had gone to bed about an hour before, Matt checking the closet and the rest of the room for any evil things that might be hiding there.

"I don't know," TK whispered, burying himself in his brother's arms. "But it's scary and it's bad and it's not supposed to be here yet. Not supposed to be here for a long time." The last sentence was not spoken by TK, Matt's baby brother, but by using TK almost as a puppet. It was not TK's voice that came out, not really. It sounded like him, but it was older, more mature… almost ancient.

And that voice scared Matt more than anything else in the world right now.

TK tugged Matt out onto the balcony, where they saw something spreading across the sky, something that looked almost like… numbers? How was that possible? Why were there _numbers_ in the sky?

Then the hugest, ugliest parrot Matt had ever seen in his life took his attention off the sky. It had landed on the street and proceeded to screech loudly and wreck anything and everything in its way.

"How don't the adults hear this?" he murmured to himself as he got a pair of binoculars for himself and TK to use to see better.

"They are being blocked," the ancient persona inside TK explained. "They are closing off their minds and refuse to believe what their eyes see. So they can't see or hear any of this."

"You're scaring me," Matt informed the person inside his brother flatly.

"I'm sorry, Yama," TK whispered, hugging him. "I'm not trying to scare you. But there's someone inside me, wanting me to let it say what it needs to say. I'm letting it because it's strong and it's _important_."

Matt was about to reply when a giant dinosaur crashed through a nearby parking garage and headed toward the giant parrot.

"Is that the bad?" he demanded of his little brother.

TK took the binoculars and, after adjusting them so he could see, said, "No. The dinosaur's not with the dark." It was Takeru's voice speaking, not the voice deep inside him, though that voice did agree with his assessment. The little girl in pink footsie pajamas riding the large dinosaur would _never_ be with the dark. _Ever_. "The parrot's with the dark," he said as the dinosaur and the parrot began to battle it out.

TK and Matt soon discovered the little girl and the boy with goggles who had followed her were nowhere to be seen, though that was not from lack of trying.

The battle was fought out, the voice inside TK wanting to know what had happened to the little girl, but TK unable to answer. Finally, the battle was finished and the monsters left. Then the other essence inside Takeru that had been keeping him awake quieted.

As Matt continued to watch the world around him, TK leaned into his brother's embrace and fell asleep there.

When the dirty blonde looked down and saw his sleeping baby brother, he gave a laugh. "Time for bed, TK," he whispered, half-awakening the slumbering child.

"I don't wanna," TK mumbled as Matt drew the covers over him. "Don't make me, Matt."

"Don't make you what?" Matt asked his brother kindly. "What don't you want to do?"

"Don't wanna fight," the smaller blonde mumbled in reply. "Please don't make me."

"You won't be fighting anytime soon, TK," the older boy assured him. "Just sleep right now." Then he climbed back into his own bed and hit the pillow, fast asleep himself.

——————————

"We need the child and we need her now!" a voice shouted in the dark room. The crash of something fragile shattering followed soon after. "They are vulnerable without their Light. Hope will be distracted, looking for Light, and will be an easy target. Get her for me NOW!"

"As you wish, Lord Myotismon," Gatomon replied, kneeling at the foot of his throne. _Not if I can help it,_ she snapped silently. _I'll _never_ let you have one of the Chosen Children as a slave as long as I live._

——————————

The next morning was marked by many changes.

TK told his mother and father about the 'monsters fighting in the street.' They didn't believe him. Matt just thought his baby brother was confusing what was real with what was fantasy. He didn't remember much of the adventure from the night before and considered it merely a dream.

At the Yagami home, Lily walked through the apartment in a daze and finally concluded that Tai and Kari were simply not capable of this sort of damage by themselves. She was also amazed that neither she nor her husband had heard the crashing of the wall or anything else. So the kids were not punished, especially as the news soon blamed it on some terrorist attack.

All families in Heighten View Terrace freaked out, of course, and refused to let their children outside unless a parent was with them, just in case something else happened.

**AN:** That's it for chapter one. Yes, I know there was little action and we already know about all this from the show, but I needed to do it for… background reasons. I intend to really start the "What if?" part next chapter. If this seems like **Lady Ophelia**'s "The Road Not Taken," then I apologize. I suppose it will, at least a little, because my mind was greatly influenced by her story, but I intend for this to be original, not a copy.

**QUESTIONS:**

1) Are there lockers in Japanese schools?

2) Can anyone point me toward an accurate and in-depth episode guide of all the seasons?

3) What's Takato's teacher's name? (No, this last one has nothing to do with this story, I just really need to know.)


	2. Chapter Two

AN: Yes

**AN:** Yes! Chapter Two is up! Lots of people reviewed Chapter One less than twenty-four hours after it was posted! Yea! Why am I so happy? It took about a week and blackmail to get _any_ reviews for my first three stories when I put them up.

**Disclaimer:** I own only the "ancient spirits" and the police officers. Nothing else. Uh… actually, Officer Hida isn't mine. He's Cody's/Iori's father, so he belongs under the heading of "Digimon characters." Sadly, I don't own him. I'm just playing with the lives of the Digimon characters. I don't own them.

**Chapter Two**

"Where is the Child of Light!" Myotismon roared. "WHERE!"

"The child was witness to the fight between Greymon and Parrotmon," Gatomon ground out, hating and cursing herself as she did so.

"Do you know which one?" the vampire digimon thundered. "There were quite a few who witnessed it!"

"The Light Heir is a very young female, and has a strong aura," the cat digimon replied, keeping her head down as she knelt in front of the throne. "The aura is white, threaded with rose, as were the ones of all her predecessors."

"WE KNOW THAT!" the undead Digimon king shouted, destroying yet another piece of pottery there for just that purpose. "WHAT ELSE IS THERE!"

Knowing that he would know—and beat her as punishment—if she lied, Gatomon told him, cursing her traitor mouth. "She lives on Earth, what the humans call the 'Real World.' To narrow it down, she lives in Japan, a large group of islands, in Heighten View Terrace."

"Good work, Gatomon," he complimented, his rage calming. "I will go rescue her from that world of misfits and imperfects."

Gatomon sneered silently at him, mocking his words. It had become the only form of enjoyment she could get in his service, except for the friendship of Wizardmon. Even that was slowly being denied her, as he kept vanishing to do various things.

She sighed as she left. Wizardmon was only in this because of _her_. She had saved his life, and thus, he was bound to her until he saved her life or died in the attempt. He would do anything she asked of him, follow her anywhere.

"Where are you, my Chosen?" she whispered to herself, gazing at the stars far above. For she knew that there was still someone waiting for her out there, someone she didn't know but should, who would sink into deep depression if anything were to happen to her. That person was someone whom Gatomon would give her life to protect, though she hoped she would never need to go to that extent.

——————————

"Tai," a small voice whispered.

"What's wrong?" Yagami Taichi asked, his unruly brown hair sticking up everywhere. _You're actually talking to me?_ he thought in surprise. He was still used to the girl from before who had rarely talked, more comfortable to use the whistle.

"A bad thing's coming," Kari said, fear evident in her eyes and voice.

"What's the bad thing?" her brother wanted to know as he crawled under the covers next to her sister. For some reason, this made them both feel better.

"I don't know, Tai," she admitted. "But it's bad and wants to hurt all of us."

"Who's 'us'?" Tai wondered.

"The Chosen Children, the digidestined, name them what you will," the ancient presence inside his baby sister intoned. "But forever and always will they be the Warriors who protect the Worlds. Your enemy is trying to keep you from coming into your strengths, for if you fall to him, so will the Worlds."

"Okay, you're scaring me," Tai said flatly, climbing back up the ladder and back under his own covers. "I'm going back to sleep." Soon his conscience got the better of him as he heard his little sister crying.

Leaning over the side of the bed he heard, "Gatomon, come help me. Gatomon, I'm scared." This mantra was repeated over and over until Kari fell asleep from sheer exhaustion. Tai's guilt had kept him secured firmly in place and many hours later he was finally able to win the battle against his conscience long enough to fall asleep.

——————————

"Tai, I need you to watch your sister for me," Yagami Lily ordered her son as Kari headed off for the park playground.

"Sure, Mom," he responded, inwardly scoffing, _I'm going to do it anyway. Why are you even asking?_

Then he spotted a group of kids with a soccer ball and began to play with them, keeping an eye on his baby sister.

Suddenly, his 'sister' sense went off, sending alarm bells through his head. Leaving the other kids with the soccer ball behind, he scanned the park for the pink clothes his sister had chosen to wear. Pink had recently become her color. There were many girls dressed in pink, but none looked anything like Kari.

Terror gripping him, he ran over to where his mother sat beneath some shaded trees with a few friends.

"Mommy," he whispered, tugging on her skirt.

"Just a moment," she responded, brushing him off.

"_Mommy_," he insisted. "It's important."

"What is it, Taichi?" she asked, exasperated.

"Kari's gone," he told her. "I can't find her." His brown eyes began to fill with tears.

"NANI!" Quickly jumping up, she grabbed Taichi's hand and began to scan the park for her baby. Kari was not one to run off without telling anyone where she was going.

Fifteen minutes later, she reached the conclusion that her son had come to within seconds.

Yagami Hikari had vanished.

——————————

"I've been concerned about you," a voice said from behind Gatomon. The white cat jumped as the voice continued, "You're worried and scared about someone. Who is it?"

"I thought I asked you not to read my mind," the cat snapped without looking behind her. She'd been having a very bad day. "You know I don't like it, Wizardmon."

"I did not read your mind, my friend," the wizard digimon explained. "I've just been watching your body language. It is amazing how easy it is to read someone just by looking at the way they hold themselves."

Gatomon merely growled.

"I feel we are going to fall," he said after a moment of silence.

"Is that meant literally or figuratively?" Gatomon asked in scathing tones.

"Most likely both," Wizardmon told her seriously. "I do not believe you can keep up this ploy for much longer before it becomes who you are."

"I'm not going to fail!" Gatomon snapped. "I promised Gennai I would do this, and I will."

"Eventually your mask is going to become your true identity," the wizard warned.

"I'll worry about that when that happens," she told him, and stormed off in a considerably worse mood than she'd gotten there with.

——————————

Matt and Takeru had been in the park with their mother when suddenly police cars showed up. Matt wanted to stay and watch them work, but then TK started crying and Nancy towed her two children home in a state of panic, noticing neither Matt's pleading to see the police work nor his little brother's tears. She couldn't help but keep thinking, as many other mother's must have been: _Not my babies, thank you God, not my babies._

Once they were home and Nancy calling her husband at work, frantic about what had happened, Matt extracted from TK the reason of the tears.

"The Light's gone," he'd explained through the twin rivers of salt water carving paths down his cheeks. "The voice inside me got really sad. It said it could feel the Light leave. If the Light's gone, then how are we going to win when we fight?" TK asked, appearing to know more than his brother but still expecting Matt to have all the answers. "I want to go find her, Matt. I think I could. She'll be really scared. Please let me go find her, Yama."

"TK, let's get one thing straight right now," Matt told his brother, staring him in the eyes. "I'm not going to let you go and try to find someone you don't even know all by yourself. If she's really gone, the police will find her. Or her parents. We have to stay here. We can't go looking for someone named, 'Light.' "

TK started to cry again, mumbling about how Light needed him as he collapsed into Matt's hug.

——————————

Myotismon was currently celebrating his good fortune as to have the Child of Light, the Destined Queen of the Digital World in his grasp. He could not kill her, no matter how much he may have wanted to, for that would have only meant the Light would pass to another, and that could not be tolerated. However, if could convince her to join his side…

——————————

"Did you find her yet?" This was the first thing that Officer Hida heard when he entered the Yagami apartment at four-thirty the next morning. The little boy, whose name he had learned was Taichi, was standing in his bedroom doorway, eyes red from crying, looking like he hadn't slept at a wink. His parents weren't in much better shape, but from the way Taichi was staying as far away as he could and still hear the news, they had been fighting recently.

"No, I'm afraid not," Officer Hida sighed, speaking directly to the brunette boy. "Believe me, we're doing everything we can. If it's possible, we'll find her soon. Even if we don't, never _ever_ give up. Do you understand me, Taichi? If you give up, that means it'll be even harder to get your little sister back. That's why you can't _ever_ give up on her, even if it takes years. Understand?" Tai nodded. He understood that if he believed that Kari would come home, then she would. If he ever thought, even for a moment, that she wasn't, then he'd lost her forever.

"I understand," he whispered softly. "But you'll keep looking, right?"

"Hai." Then he spoke a few soft words of encouragement to Mr. and Mrs. Yagami, informing of the true chances of finding their daughter after she had been missing for so long. The two burst into tears as Officer Hida left, locking the door behind himself.

**AN:** Okay, I know these chapters are short, but I don't feel like I can just jump forward four or so years in the middle of a chapter.


	3. Chapter Three

AN: Well, here's Chapter Three

**AN:** Well, here's Chapter Three!

**Disclaimers:** Ancient spirits and miscellaneous people are mine. That's it. I'm merely messing with everyone else's lives. I don't own them, however much I may wish to.

**Chapter Three**

It had been two years since Yagami Hikari's disappearance. Her father hadn't given up on his search for his little girl, but Lily had. She had said after a year of searching that because the crime rate in Tokyo had gone down so much, if Kari was there to be found, she would have been. There was no reason to put hopes up when they'd just come crashing down, she said.

Something about the word 'hopes' was irritating Tai. It rang a deep chord inside him, but he couldn't pin down why. Something about hope…

It should have a capital "H," he finally decided. Like it was someone's name. Hope with a big "H" was important.

Secure in the knowledge that he'd figured out something important, the eight-year-old fetched his soccer ball and headed to the park, after requesting—and receiving—permission from both his parents. They had insisted of knowing where he was every minute of the day since losing Kari.

——————————

Wizardmon was pacing in his small, stone cell. Well, maybe 'cell' wasn't the correct word… Tiny little room which was equivalent to a human penitentiary cage. No, never mind, cell would work.

Worried about Gatomon as he was, keeping still was not an option. His cat friend was falling more and more under Myotismon's spell as time went on, and didn't even realize it! That human girl child was the only thing really keeping her sane and fighting the vampire digimon. That girl—Kari, he believed her name to be—had a strong effect on Gatomon and the white cat digimon kept sneaking over to help the girl after the beatings. That was where Gatomon was right now.

"He's going to find out," the wizard sighed, placing his head against the stone wall with a thunk. "You're just digging yourself in deeper, my friend."

Then said friend burst in, panting and terrified.

"He's going to kill her, Wizardmon!" Gatomon gasped out. "I don't think he cares anymore!"

"WHAT!"

The two friends took off running for the dungeons, attempting to save the Light Child who could be their world's only hope.

——————————

Screams and the words "Crimson Lightning!" pierced the darkness, along with the slaps of that lightning whip hitting flesh.

"Stop!" the Child of Light begged, tears streaming down her six-year old face as she curled up into a defensive ball. "Please stop! I'll be good! I promise I'll be good! Just stop! Please, just stop!" But her tormenter had no desire to do such a thing. If anything, he only increased his attacks.

Unnoticed, Gatomon and Wizardmon burst in through the open door.

Wizardmon could only stand in horror as he watched the beating.

Gatomon, however, could only remain unmoved for so long.

She leapt at her 'master,' releasing a "Lightning Paw!" as she did so. Though there was no fatal damage to the vampire, it certainly distracted him.

"Kari!" Gatomon cried, instantly at the side of the barely conscious child. Helping the girl up so her back was braced against the wall, rather than the pool of blood on the floor, Gatomon promised to help this child she felt so much for.

Then the digivice Myotismon had kept at his waist began to beep and glow. As it began to burn him, he pulled it off and threw it away. He didn't realize that he threw it at his competition.

The small brunette caught it and a huge light shone forth, resonating with the one coming from the holy light emitted purely by the child.

With a shocked exclamation, Gatomon felt power rising within her, filling her as the light surrounded her and her 'master' screamed in pain from the Light.

"Gatomon digivolve to… Angewoman!"

"Gato's an angel now," Kari whispered, suddenly feeling much better as the light emitted from her partner healed the worst of her wounds and replaced some of the blood. "I've got my own guardian angel now, just like Tai said I would get if I was good."

The Angel of Light and the Undead King began to fight, the Crimson Whip doing little damage to the Light Angel. Unfortunately, his bats summoned darkness even as they fled to the corners and Myotismon had the advantage unless he came near the two.

"Celestial Arrow!" An arrow was shot off into the darkness and, by luck, it wounded its target.

"Damn you!" the vampire snarled as he held his shoulder. The wound was deep and he couldn't launch any worthwhile attacks from on his knees. "You're _my_ servant!" It was about time one of them was deeply injured. The fight had been going on for quite a few hours.

"Quickly, Kari," Angewoman ordered, ignoring her former master. "Hold up your digivice! I'm going to try something, and you have to promise not to scream. I'm not sure how well this is going to work."

"Okay, Angel," Kari said simply. She had complete trust in the cat-turned-angel who had been secretly taking care of her for the past two years. The trust, belief, and love that radiated from both her eyes and aura caused Angewoman to hesitate slightly. What if she somehow destroyed that trust? But part of her told her that would never happen.

So, taking a deep breath and raising her arms over her head, she called out, "HEAVEN'S CHARM!"

The brilliant Light emanating from the Child increased to give the Angel more power. The air shone the colors of the rainbow with collected power over the Angel's hands. Slowly, the rainbow cleared to show a place with green hills and a forest in the background. There were a few small animals running around.

"Kari, do you trust me?" Angewoman asked, kneeling down in front of her Chosen, using more and more of her power to keep the gate open.

"Stupid question," Kari mumbled weakly, climbing to her feet and collapsing against her partner, digivice clutched tightly in her hand as her self-created light faded. "'Course I do."

Picking up the young girl, the blonde angel leapt into the air and through the spell.

"Myotismon," she called. "I am not your servant. I never have been."

Then the portal of Light momentarily connecting two worlds rolled up on itself and vanished, leaving Myotismon and Wizardmon alone in the darkness. The wizard had not left the doorway in the five hours since he had reached it.

"Why didn't you do anything?" the vampire snarled.

"I did not wish to interrupt your concentration, Master," Wizardmon said with a bow, sweeping his hat off his head and holding it over his chest.

"Rubbish!" the vampire snarled as he got to his feet and swept out of the dungeons, hurrying to find a digimon he commanded who could heal him.

——————————

Ishida Matt jumped when he heard his little brother let out a loud shot of glee.

"What is it, TK?" he asked, pulled away from watching the beautiful sunset. The two were in the park, their parents _finally_ allowing them out of their sight for long periods of time.

"The Light's back!" the blonde screeched joyfully, wrapping his arms around his brother. "She's back! She's not hurting so much anymore!"

"Okay, TK," Matt said. "Let me go now, okay?" Takeru complied. "Who's Light?"

"The girl in my dreams," TK patiently explained for the billionth time that month. "She was being hurt. Now no one's hurting her!"

"That's good, TK," Matt told his brother, still under the firm belief that TK had dreamed up this 'Light.' "Now we need to get back to the apartment. It's almost six."

With a groan of disappointment, Takeru allowed himself to be led back home.

Once the brothers got home, the younger was still clammoring about the wonderous Light. He was pretty much ignored by all, except for the absentminded words from his father, "What a wonderful imagination you have, TK."

**AN:** There's the third chapter. Yes, it's short. But it's slightly longer than the last, and I'll try to make each one longer than the last.


	4. Chapter Four

AN: Well, here's Chapter Three

**AN:** Writer's block is the bane of my existence! Sorry in taking so long, but the creative writing part of my brain has been shut down since the tenth of April (until the tenth of May when I updated this and it got... removed)! It really sucked. I couldn't write ANYTHING!

**Disclaimer:** Not in show, I own it. Don't sue. In any case, I'm broke. Again.

**Chapter Four**

Leon Smith was walking through the forest when a strange cat came up to him and began tugging at his pantleg, trying to get him to follow. Thankfully, he knew only enough about cats to know that she wanted him to follow her.

After staring at the white cat for a moment, he did so.

Within minutes he came upon the prone and bloody form of a child. Rushing forward, he was grateful to discover that most of the blood was dried so the girl wasn't going to bleed to death in this frozen wood.

The cat was mewing, rubbing her furry face against the child's cheek, apparently trying to get her to awaken.

"That's not going to work, kitty," Leon said gently, as though the cat could understand him, as he scooped up the girl. Immediately he noticed that she was far too light, if she was five or six as she appeared to be. "This isn't good," he murmured as he felt the girl's forehead and discovered it was burning up with fever.

Then he took her across town to an orphanage run by nuns.

——————————

"How is she?" Leon asked, running his hands through his sandy hair. He had been out in this tiled hall with uncomfortable benches for the past hour and was going to go mad soon. Wanting dinner, but unable to feel comfortable with his conscience if he left the child, he'd been walking up and down this hall since turning the girl over to the nuns.

"She's got a high fever and seems to be dreaming or delirious. We're hoping she's dreaming and merely talking in her sleep. Why didn't you take her to the hospital, Mr. Smith?" the young nun inquired. "She's lost so much blood and we can't give a transfusion."

"It didn't feel right and I know for a fact that she'd actually get help and treatment here and cared for," Leon answered instantly. "Besides," he added after a moment. "I don't think she's got a family. I found out in the woods and brought her straight here. With all that blood loss, she could be dying and if her family did that to her, I don't want to have her go back to them."

"You _do_ realize that if your latter suggestion is true, you could be charged with kidnapping?"

"That's _INSANE_!" the blond man screeched. "She was lying out in the middle of nowhere, losing more blood by the second, and could've froze to death! Was I just supposed to leave her there!"

"Calm down, Leon," came an order from an elder nun, leaving the chapel. Her face was covered with wrinkles and looked stern, but her eyes twinkled with laughter and worry. "You risk hurting the child. If she hears you and gets agitated, her condition will only get worse. We need her to heal, and heal quickly. No more outbursts, young man, or I will have you removed from our grounds."

Leon nodded meekly and answered, "Yes, Mother Lei."

"Has she said anything recently, Cecilia?" Mother Lei questioned the young nun brusquely.

"She's been speaking in some strange tongue recently, Mother," the younger woman answered. "The only word we've understood is 'gato.' "

"Leon, was there a cat with her when you found her?"

"Yes," Leon replied. "But the cat didn't come in. I knew you don't allow cats in here."

"Please," Cecilia put in meekly. "But could you go get the cat? She's been screaming for it recently and won't calm down. We're seriously considering putting restraints on her. Bringing the cat in might calm her."

Leon didn't even look to the Mother Superior for a reply; he just ran for the gates, hoping the strange white cat was still there.

——————————

Gatomon was currently considering climbing up the stone wall, though she knew that would probably do more harm than good to her body. She had let the man take Kari over an hour ago, once he'd said he would get her help. Then he hadn't let her in with him! Didn't he know that Kari needed her? Where was the sanity and brains of the human race? Did they have any, or was Kari just an exception?

Finally, the great big gates creaked open.

Before the gates were open far enough for the man to step out, Gatomon had zipped in and was racing down a hall, following the link to her partner.

Within moments, she had reached the room in which her terrified six-year-old Chosen was located. Unfortunately, she couldn't get _to_ her Chosen.

The door was closed.

_Damn_ those creatures who created doorknobs!

Then the man came puffing up behind her and opened the door for her.

Gatomon instantly raced in and leaped onto the bed where some women in black were holding a screaming Kari down. As soon as Kari noticed Gatomon's presence, she stopped screaming and fighting the women. She relaxed and hugged Gatomon tightly, refusing to let go as she passed out again, having depleted herself of all her energy. While the cat digimon was overjoyed to see Kari doing better and healing, she wasn't too pleased about being hugged so tight that she could barely breathe by an unconscious six-year-old. But it was worth it, especially when Kari's grip loosened after a few moments.

Then Gatomon curled up and fell asleep, no longer completely terrified about her Chosen's condition.

——————————

Kari was surrounded by darkness.

Granted, it was warm and comfortable, but something about it felt wrong. It was not Darkness which was supposed to surround her, but Light. The only Darkness which should ever surround her should be at night when you turn the lights out. That darkness still had light and never felt wrong like this one did.

_What's going on?_ she wondered. _Did Myotismon finally get Gatomon? Did he kill her and trap me again? Is that why the Darkness is here? If he did, why am I still fighting? Why don't I give in? After all, Gatomon wouldn't let him hurt me if she was still alive._

With those thoughts, she gave up on life. She'd been struggling to simply live for two years. Tai had never found or contacted her, and Gatomon was dead now. What did she have to keep fighting for? Nothing, for she had long ago stopped thinking her life was worth anything and those she'd hung on for were gone.

Then, a yellow light pierced the veil of Darkness, bringing reliable comfort to the Yagami girl.

_You can't give up!_ a voice commanded, sounding both young and older than time. It was like that voice deep inside her than spoke to her sometimes. Tai had called it a conscience. Why would a conscience that wasn't hers be talking to her?

_Why not?_ she asked it.

_Because I need you,_ the voice pleaded. _Your brother, Tai, does too. And so do many others you haven't met yet. Please! We need you to live! You can't die yet!_

_Why not?_ she asked again. Her brain felt fuzzy and the Darkness was calling to her, making it harder to think.

_I need you!_ the voice begged. _If you die, I'll die too! Don't give into the Darkness!_

_So… you'll die if I die?_ Kari repeated in confusion.

_That's right! It's not your time to leave yet! Fight for your life!_ the voice commanded.

_Okay,_ Kari agreed._ But what's your name?_ This was very important to the six-year-old.

_I'm Hope,_ the voice said gently.

_Will I see you someday?_

_Yes. If you try hard enough, you'll realize you already met me once. I'll see you again someday, Light._ Without Kari realizing it, the Darkness had slowly been forced back by the yellow light, and now that she had agreed to fight and live, it was banished completely by the pinkish-white light emanating from her body.

——————————

"Mother Lei! Mother Lei!"

"What is it, my child?" the Mother Superior asked as Cecilia came rushing into Lei's office, in a state of near-panic.

"The girl! She took a turn for the worse! Her fever's gone up but she's getting cold!" (How that's possible, I don't know. I just know that dying people feel cold. Kari is dying.) Lei's eyes opened wide in horror and she raced down the hall with Cecilia to the child's room, to find the strange cat mewing in distress, as frantic as the two women. The girl lay there, breathing shallowly and laboriously, and when Lei put a hand on the girl's forehead, her fever had indeed gone up.

Then Cecilia put a hand on the girl and said, "It's gone down from what it was a few moments ago."

"That's good," Mother Lei sighed, but inwardly she thought, _If this child's fever can go up and down so much that we can tell the difference without thermometers, then I worry for her. Hopefully, it continues to go down and she heals soon._

"Go to the chapel and pray for our newest charge, Cecilia," Lei ordered. "She needs all the prayers we can give her. I'll keep watch for a little while."

"Yes, Mother Superior," Cecilia sighed, scratching the cat behind the ears just before heading out.

——————————

"TK? What's wrong?" The six-year-old's mother was studying him worriedly from across the table. Matt and their father were gone from the apartment.

"Nothing," he whispered, squirming. It wasn't really _lying_: something just felt off, not really _wrong_. But the presence inside him was on edge. Never a good sign. But at least it wasn't terrified like it had been for the majority of the past two years. _That_ was scary.

His mother dropped her inquisition, seeing the look on her younger son's face. Knowing something was wrong, even if TK didn't, and knowing further pressing would only make Takeru feel worse, she stored her information in the back of her mind and began to chatter about unimportant things.

——————————

"Gennai, you are an _idiot_," Azulongmon announced to the old man floating on the cloud in front of him. "First you give out the Crests again—knowing what happened to the last children holding them—and then you allow the Child of Light—one of the two entirely _vital_ to the survival of this world—to be controlled by the ones of Darkness for two _years_. _And_ you tell Gatomon, the only one capable of retrieving the Child, to _sit there and wait _while the child _dies_. You are getting very slow in your old age. Gatomon was right in going against you and saving the girl. If we had lost her, we may have very well have lost our very _existence_, if the Crest did not pick another child. As it is, we may still very well lose her. I can only hope—and pray—that you will do better when the Chosen Children are summoned to this world."

"As you wish," Gennai murmured, his wizened face flushing with shame. Yes, he had told Gatomon not to do anything, and yes, that _had_ almost ended the life of the Yagami girl. But did the old digimon really have to rub it in? Of course.

He would just have to do better when the others chosen by the Crests were summoned. He wondered how the girl had lasted so long without a physical manifestation of the Crest of Light beyond her own existence. Heck, she shouldn't have been able to get to the Digital World, summoned or not, without a digivice that he would send to her once she healed physically.

Completely humiliated, Gennai bowed and left, heading for his home beneath a sea.

**AN:** Yes, my brain is once again shot. We have SOLs for the next THREE WEEKS and I'm actually studying/friends fall over in shock/ So that means my brain dies fast and has a tendency to stay dead. Add that to the fact that I can only type this up in the early hours of the morning or late at night and am working on… seven other fictions, and you have my excuse. Anybody care to guess where Kari is? (Hint: If you've read Lady Ophelia's "The Road Not Taken," then I'll tell you right now that it is NOT Alaska. Wonderful—albeit _cold_—country, but not where the Child of Light has been taken.)


	5. Chapter Five

**AN:** Yes, I did change my name from 'Nazi Hater.' Where did all my reviewers go//Looks around sadly/ It's not that I don't like having new people reviewing, but where did all the people go who reviewed before this story was banned? You five appear to have vanished off the face of the earth.

**Review Replies!**

**JyouraSorato:** Okay, so you disagree with my pairings. Have anything useful to say?

**Taeniaea:** Glad you like it! Here's the next chapter.

**Disclaimer:** Not on show, I don't own.

**Chapter Five**

"Gatomon!" a young voice called, echoing through the empty halls. "Gatomon! Where'd you go, Gato?" A young child came into view, pale as a sheet, moving slowly. "Gatomon!" The girl stopped, bent over double from coughing. "Gato!" she called again once the fit passed.

The strange white cat appeared from nowhere and stood on her hind legs, bracing Hikari as the girl swayed.

"Why'd you leave your bed?" Gatomon demanded, very concerned. "You're not well yet."

"It's been a month. I'm fine," Hikari mumbled, leaning heavily on the cat, who happened to be just a bit taller than she was. "Except when I start coughing."

"And you do that whenever you try to talk normally or shout," the digimon reminded her partner furiously. "And you can barely stand right now. How did you get out anyway?"

"Cecilia fell asleep," Hikari whispered into Gatomon's furry shoulder. "I didn't see you anywhere, and I wanted to tell you something, so I snuck out. Are you mad at me?"

"No," Gatomon sighed after looking at Kari's pleading, worried eyes. She could never stay mad at that girl for long, and one look at how much Hikari wanted Gatomon to be happy and not get mad at her always ended any anger the cat-digimon had.

"What was it you wanted to tell me?" Gatomon asked, scooping up the young girl as the child's weak legs gave out.

"I don't really remember…" the Child of Light mumbled. Gatomon sighed. Leave it to Hikari to go wandering all around an orphanage to say something and then forget. She listened as the girl began to speak again, so softly. "But I know I wanted to tell you I love you Gatomon. I love you very much." The cat nearly dropped her precious burden at those words. No one had ever said that to her, at least not that Gatomon could remember.

She opened her mouth to respond, looking down at her Chosen. Then she noticed that the girl had fallen asleep and sighed.

"You should have just stayed in bed, Kari," the cat murmured, carrying her burden back to the room, hoping that no one had noticed Kari's absence.

——————————

Takeru wasn't doing so well either.

For the past few days, he'd had a bad headache, and recently his mother had discovered that he had a fever. He also had a very bad cough, which he had managed to keep hidden from his parents for a bit too long.

When they took him to the doctor, it was discovered that he had pneumonia, which was not a good thing. Now the young child had to have a bottle of water with him everywhere he went, and had to drink at least one glass an hour. More would be better.

Matt wasn't happy with this turn of events. He had been watching his baby brother and had known for a long time that something was off, but hadn't had the courage to tell his parents when they would merely say that he was being paranoid. Now, he was being blamed for not noticing that TK was really ill. Not by his parents or little brother, but by his conscience. He was not blaming himself for TK getting sick, but that he hadn't said anything. He felt extremely guilty over that.

TK noticed his older brother's guilty conscience and did his best to get rid of it, even admitting that he had purposely hidden his being sick. Matt slowly accepted this over the course of the next few weeks and Takeru had succeeded in his goal.

——————————

Taichi had been feeling strange lately, according to his friends. He'd started being really quiet two years ago, when his sister vanished, but this past week that brave boy everyone admired had been… crying. In public.

Because he had burst into sobs for no obvious reason yesterday in the park, his friends were avoiding him. Well, _Sora_ wasn't avoiding him, but she _was_ out of town on vacation with her family. Of course, when she'd left, she was still mad about him throwing up in her hat. He'd just heard his mother shout that she wished Hikari was dead and that they could find her body so he'd face reality. The words "I wish that bitch of a daughter of mine would just die and let us find her damn body!" had absolutely crushed him and he'd turned to the nearest container to throw up in. He couldn't help it if it was Sora's hat, could he?

"Mommy?" he called softly, hearing his mother bustling around in the kitchen.

"What is it Taichi?" she asked.

"Do you love Kari?" he asked. He needed reassurance that the stuff he'd overheard was false.

"Of course I do," Lily responded after a moment. "Just like I love you."

"Okay," he responded happily, giving his mother an uncharacteristic hug. "Do you miss her?"

Lily stiffened. Did she miss her daughter? Sometimes she missed Kari more than anything, but other times…

"Yes," she sighed to her son, ruffling his hair.

Tai grinned, happier than he'd been in days, and ran outside to play soccer with his friends.

——————————

"Sora!" Mrs. Takenouchi called. "We're leaving now!"

A groan answered from inside the hotel room, and then a young redhead appeared, dragging her little red suitcase behind her.

"I'm hungry, Mommy," Sora whined, climbing into the rental car.

"We'll eat soon," Mrs. Takenouchi promised. "But right now we need to get moving."

Sora sighed and buckled herself in, resigning herself to hunger. She fingered the new blue hat Tai had given her before she'd left. Still angry, she'd almost refused. But when he'd apologized for throwing up in her old one and showed her the new one, she'd relented, though warning him that she was still angry.

She and her parents had left Japan to visit America last week, and Sora didn't really like it. Seeing the huge buildings and the green lady with the torch was cool, but trying to talk to the people wasn't. They all made strange sounds that she couldn't understand.

A thud and popping sound brought her out of her daydreams.

"Daddy, what's going on?" she asked. Her father was scowling and grumbling under his breath as he climbed out of the car without answering her.

"Mommy?" she pleaded. "Why aren't we moving?" There was just forest, the sky with its clouds, and the road for all the eye to see.

"One of the tires burst," Mrs. Takenouchi explained to her young daughter. Then she noticed that outside her husband was cursing the air blue, thankfully mute inside the car. "We don't have a spare tire, so we are either stuck until some nice soul decides to come along and help us, or your father will go ahead on the road a bit and try to find someone to help."

"I don't wanna be here forever," Sora announced firmly. "Daddy'll have to go walking." Mrs. Takenouchi began to laugh, and was still doing so when her husband opened the car door.

"Daddy, you have to go walking to find another tire," Sora ordered him. Her mother laughed harder in response, tears of mirth trickling down her cheeks.

"Do you agree to this?" he asked his wife. She nodded, still laughing, so he shut the door again and began to walk.

——————————

Kari had just woken up from a nap when there was a knocking on her door.

"What?" she yawned, opening the door. Mother Lei instantly began to speak in English very rapidly. A few moments later she noticed Kari's blank expression and remembered that the girl spoke only Japanese and had only recently learned a very few English words. So she repeated the main points slowly.

"Some people need help," she said. "Do you want to come with us? We'll have to walk." Kari understood 'people need help,' 'want,' 'come,' and 'walk.' After a few moments of sorting through the words to try and get the gist of the one-sided conversation, she nodded enthusiastically. So the two left the room, Gatomon quickly following.

Mother Lei tried to get the cat to go away and not follow, but Gatomon refused to leave her Chosen's side. The last time she'd done that, Kari had nearly ended up dead.

Soon they came upon a strange man, who Mother Lei had called 'Mister Takenouchi.'

"Konnichi wa," Hikari said politely. The man seemed surprised, then gave a polite 'hello' back to her.

"I lost a tire on my car," he explained to her in Japanese. "Mother Lei agreed to come with me and help put on a new one. Are you sure you want to come? It's a long walk."

"Hai," the Light Child responded. "I need the exercise." Mr. Takenouchi burst into laughter, but quieted down after a look from the nun. She might not know Japanese, but she would not allow someone to laugh at one of her charges.

So, with one of the seventeen-year-old orphans carrying a spare tire and Kari holding an extra wrench, they set off, Gatomon plodding along right next to her happy charge.

Kari proceeded to forget all formality she had learned, and began to ask the man questions in her native language. Mr. Takenouchi was a bit surprised at first, but soon relaxed and answered the innocent inquiries honestly, noting that though she asked constant questions, she was always polite in their phrasings.

Soon they made it to the car, and Kari met Sora while the adults got the tire taken care of, not needing the extra wrench. The two girls began to chatter aimlessly about random things in Japanese, never once mentioning anything farther into past than Sora's leaving Japan. Kari translated the gist of almost everything the two American women said—which wasn't much—for Sora, who thought that Kari's minor translation abilities were 'cool.'

All two soon for the children's liking, the tire was put back on and it was time for Kari to leave. The girls moaned, and Sora's father proposed giving the three females and Gatomon a ride. After a few moments, the teenager and Mother Lei piled in and buckled up. Kari had buckled in and Gatomon had climbed onto her lap the second she heard 'ride.' When Sora had asked what she was doing, she translated what she assumed had been said and Sora instantly agreed to what the brunette had done and began to plead with the two women in Japanese.

They understood the intent of the redhead's speech, if not the words, which was most of what had convinced them to take the offered ride.

Once they got back to the orphanage, the three helpers of the Takenouchi family climbed out of the car and back into their home, Kari chattering on and on about Sora and what fun it had been in Japanese while the car drove away.

**AN:** I know, I know, short chapter. My brain has once again died. But on a bright note… I just have a week of exams and then I'm out of school! Yahoo! Summer break… /begins daydreaming/


	6. Chapter Six

**AN:** I feel so bad/cries/ I was re-reading my reviews, and I suddenly noticed that I've been badly neglecting this story! And I only had an excuse for two days! I'm so lazy… /sighs/

**Review Replies!**

**Keiko13:** Yes! You have _finally_ read this story! (Don't glare at me; it's the truth!) Tell me what clichés you see, okay? I have a hard time finding them in my own work. Don't know why… Anyway, I'm glad you decided to keep up with this, and I'm really glad you added this to your fave's.

**Dragon and Sword Master:** Yes, I've updated. I'm glad you found this again. Did putting that I used to be Nazi Hater in the summary help? Because most of my old reviewers found this again after I put that up. /cheers/

**Kay:** Yes, we've made contact! Will Sora remember Kari once she gets back to Japan, though? I'm glad you found this again.

**Taeniaea:** I have updated! Glad you like this!

**Chapter Six**

Sora was bored of sitting.

She and her family had gotten on a plane, upon which she couldn't move around, and then, once they were back in Japan, had climbed into their car and headed home.

Glad that she didn't get carsick, the redhead pulled out the one book she hadn't read yet, bored out of her mind.

Her first act back home, once unpacked, was to race over to see Taichi and be best friends again.

His first words were apology for throwing up in her hat. Once she spoke her forgiveness, he wanted to know _everything_ about America. However, when Sora tried to describe Hikari, she was unable to. Nor could she remember the girl's last name. Tai was sad about that, but quickly perked up when she mentioned the pools and soccer games she'd been to.

——————————

Gennai was glaring at the glowing device in his hand, which refused to cross between worlds.

Scowling, he repeated the spell for the umpteenth time. The digivice in his hands grew brighter and brighter, but then the light suddenly died.

"Damn," he hissed, throwing the digivice into a nearby wall. The small thing broke on contact. "Why won't it work?" He was trying to send Kari's digivice to her early, considering that she'd already been to the Digital World.

"Perhaps she already has one," a voice calmly stated from nearby. "It would explain how she was brought here, and the fact that your spell refuses to work."

"True," the old man sighed. Then he turned to his visitor. "I hope I haven't bored you with my inattention."

"Not at all," the digimon replied. "Quite the contrary. But you must excuse me. I need to visit an old friend." Then the digimon summoned his staff, tipped with a sun, and slashed it through the air. There was a shimmering where the staff had passed through the air. "Goodbye, Gennai," he spoke, jumping through the portal."Goodbye, Wizardmon," Gennai sighed as the portal rolled in on itself and vanished.

——————————

"Gatomon!" a child's voice called. "Gato! Where'd you go this time?" Kari was again wandering around the orphanage, but this time met up with three other children.

"Wanna play?" one of the blond boys asked, gesturing to the soccer ball at his feet.

"I'm not very good…" Hikari hesitated. "But okay."

"Yay!" the one girl, with hair as black as night, shouted. She instantly went over to the brunette's side. "Let's do girls vs. guys!" The boys were fine with this, and the foursome went out into the courtyard to move the tires around so they'd have a makeshift field.

——————————

"I was wondering when you would show up," Gatomon said softly without looking behind her. "Are you still 'wearing your mask'?"

"Thank heavens, no," her old friend replied. "I was ready to kill that bastard myself by the time I got out, but I managed to restrain myself. How are you and Hikari?"

"We're doing fine," the cat-digimon responded with a laugh. "She was really sick until late last month, but she's really energetic now. But she can't stand anything that moves like a whip, is shaped like one, or makes a noise like one. And she's scared of the dark."

"It's not exactly surprising," Wizardmon justified. "When you remember what's she been through, you feel glad that she's not worse off."

"True," Gatomon sighed. "I guess I just worry about her too much. I don't want anything else to happen to her. That girl's already been through enough; she doesn't need more pain."

"When the children's game is over, do you think she would agree to talk to me? I can wait in your room, if it would help," the wizard offered.

"I'd start getting there," the white digimon suggested. "Second floor, third on the right from the stairway on this end. The door's unlocked. If any of the nuns come in, say you're one of Kari's 'odd' friends. They know that I can talk, and am from another world, but I have no desire to have them know any more than that."

Giving his friend a quick hug, the unusually emotional humanoid digimon headed for the stairway while Gatomon watched the children play.

——————————

"Hiya Wizardmon!" Kari shouted, launching into a tackle/hug at the other half of her saving grace. Then she launched into a series of questions. "When'd you get here? Why'd you come? Are you going to be here for a long time? What's going on? Have you seen my brother? Does anyone else know you're here?"

She would have continued until she ran out of breath, but Wizardmon put a hand over her mouth.

"I'm afraid that I cannot stay long, Hikari," he began regretfully. "Yousee, I have to go back to the Digital World and get a friend out of a problem. He's been begging my assistance for a while, but I needed to visit you first, to make sure that you were all right. Gatomon's been taking care of you, hasn't she?"

Kari nodded enthusiastically. "She's been taking really good care of me. So have all the nuns. I don't know many of the kids, though," she added sadly. "I've been sick a lot."

"Well, I'm sure you'll make plenty of friends now that you're getting better," the wizard replied, giving the girl a hug. "You take good care of Gatomon for me, all right? And be good. Try to forget about what that monster of a digimon did, and focus on the good things. If you do that, your whole life will just keep getting better and better. Plus," he added. "I'll probably see you sooner. How'd you like that?"

Hikari cried that she'd like it very much, and gave him another tight hug before letting go and allowing him to leave.

**AN:** I know this chapter is very short and doesn't appear to advance the storyline much, but I feel guilty for neglecting it for so long. Mostly filler, but I'm working on Ch. 7 as you read. Give me all the advice you have. Especially on killing Writer's Block. (The bane of my existence. /shudders/)


	7. Chapter Seven

**Review Replies!**

**Kay:** Actually, we've got about another two years for the Dark Masters. I sent you an email about it. Didn't you read it? A response would be so wonderful.

**KoumiLoccness:** Wow, you found this story again. What do you think of the actual story?

**John:** My thoughts exactly. Actually, I think someone had something against me. Not sure what… but for nearly a month, until I changed my penname, everything I updated got deleted/banned.

**Disclaimer:** If it is not in the show, then I own it. Otherwise, I cannot say I have any copyrights. Don't sue; I'm broke.

**Chapter Seven**

Time passed and everyone grew up, slowly going their separate ways.

Taichi slowly came out of his depression, though the mention of families was a sore spot with him, nor did he return to his former happiness-bordering-on-hyperness. He joined soccer to forget and focus his mind on other things, and soon his life nearly revolved around the sport.

Sora forgot about ever meeting Kari and Gatomon, and dove headfirst into soccer.

Yamato soon forgot about his brother's "dreams" of the Light and the monsters attacking, as his parents' fights increased in length and volume.

Mimi forgot about the monsters fighting in the street, except for in her nightmares. The girl began to focus on getting a fully pink wardrobe.

Jou and Koushiro delve deep into their studies, having already forgotten about the "terriost" attacks which caused their families to move.

Takeru slowly pushed his "Light" and the monster attacks from his mind and focused more on what was in front of his face, namely video games and sports. He tried to drown himself in these and his brother's company to ignore his parents constant fighting.

Hikari soon stopped mentioning her brother, and quickly learned English, though she constantly wore long sleeves, no matter the weather. One hot summer day, she nearly fainted and some of the older girls took her to their room to get a new wardrobe. Thus, when she pulled off her shirt, the teens discovered the whip scars which she had been carrying for so long.

After a few moments of staring, one of the girls came up with the idea of having Kari wearing a kind of gauntlet on each arm, made of thin material of whatever color the girl chose, so she wouldn't get too hot, but would be able to cover up her scars. After a moment of consideration, the child agreed and as a few of the teens got out a large amount of clothes for Hikari to try on, another two took measurements and began making to concealing pink items.

Half an hour later, Kari was properly attired for the weather, but also hiding the question-raising scars.

——————————

"Tai-chan!" Sora whined. "Stop daydreaming! You're making this too easy!"

The two best friends were playing one-on-one soccer, and Taichi kept spacing out.

"Gomen," he muttered, embarrassed. "I was just… thinking."

"Well," she snapped. "Start thinking about the _game_! I have to go home soon!"

Tai kicked himself out of his mental depression and focused on the soccer ball coming toward him.

——————————

"Jou!" Mr. Kido scolded. "It's so late! Get to bed. You need your sleep if you want to do well at school." Instantly, the blue-haired boy shut his book and climbed into bed.

"Good-night, Mom," the boy responded, giving his mother a hug as she tucked him in.

"You'll do just great at school," she reassured him. "So stop worrying."

Unfortunately, Jou didn't hear the part about worrying, being already asleep.

——————————

"We really should tell him…" Mrs. Izumi began. She and her husband were sitting on the couch, talking.

"Not yet," her husband protested. "Izzy's still too young. He's only eight, and I'm not sure he can handle it."

"But… if we wait to tell him that he's adopted," the brunette wife objected, "he might reject us, or…" She broke into sobs, unable to form coherent sentences.

Izzy stood behind his bedroom door, watching through the crack as his father comforted his mother, his mind awhirl.

_WHAT DID SHE MEAN** HE WAS ADPOTED!**_

Completely confused and worried, the genius lay back down on his bed, trying to process this new information properly so his mind would agree to shut down and let his body recharge.

——————————

"I'm leaving Matt," the blond's father said gently. "And you're coming with me."

"What's going on?" the jaded boy demanded, wary. "Where are we going? Why isn't TK coming with us?"

"Your mother and I have gotten a divorce," the Ishida man said with a sigh. "The laywer said that you have to live with me, and Takeru with your mother. But you'll see each other every weekend."

"Promise?" Matt asked, still wary and worried about leaving his baby brother.

"I promise," his father replied. "Now get your stuff. We're leaving."

Silently and sullenly, the blond obeyed.

——————————

"Do you have everything you want, pumpkin?" Mr. Tachikawa asked his daughter.

"Almost," the girl replied. "Daddy, can I have that pink skirt?"

"All right, Mimi," the man sighed, "but that's it."

"Yay!" The girl jumped up and down with joy as she and her father headed toward the check-out line, the latter laid down with Mimi's purchases.

——————————

"Matt? Will you help me with this?" A pair of small hands put a math worksheet in front of the dozing boy. It was their first weekend together after their parents were officially divoriced, and here he was, hardly unable to keep his eyes open!

"Sure thing, TK," he replied as his brother pulled up a chair next to him. "You see, this is a five. You can count that on your fingers, right?" At TK's nod, Matt continued. "This is a two. You count up to five on your fingers, then you go… 1… 2." He demonstrated, holding up seven fingers. "Now count how many fingers I'm holding up, TK."

Obediently, Takeru began to count, putting one of his own fingers on each of his brother's as he reached that number. "1… 2…3… 4… 5… 6… 7. Is that right, Matt?"

"Yep! You do that with all the problems, and you'll get them all right!" the older brother replied cheerfully.

He watched in contentment as his baby brother bent over his math problems once again.

**AN:** Sorry, that's it. I know I didn't get into Kari too much, but that'll change next chapter. Got any comments? Is there anything I'm doing wrong?


	8. Chapter Eight

**AN:** GOMEN _NASAI_! I didn't mean to take this long to write another chapter! I really didn't! But, well… life caught up with me and seems to enjoy strangling me… and my teachers apparently don't believe in free time, so… Yep. That's my excuse. Also, writer's block played a large part.

**Review Replies!**

**Kay:** I love your reviews and ideas. Sorry this took forever.

**Black-Angel-001:** Actually, most people _don't_ ask questions. I'm glad that you are. I'm also glad you've read everything I've got up for this thing so far. Good luck figuring this puzzle piece out.

**Sora and Kari Fan:** Glad you love it so much.

**Sheng.Long 2005:** Okay, I didn't obey the 'quick update' rule, but I'm _extremely _thankful for your praise. I've spent _hours_ finding all the info I need. Feel free to point out anything I do wrong.

**JyouraKoumi**: I understand your feelings, but it would be greatly appreciated if you would show some respect for those who enjoy the couple.

**Disclaimer:** Orphanage, everyone there, and the town itself are MINE. No one else. Like Kari and TK and the digimon and digidestined. They ain't mine.

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

"Kari!" a brunette boy shouted. "Kari! We need to go home now!"

The two children were in a park, and Kari had decided to run away from the older boy.

"Kari!" he called again, starting to whine. "Mother Lei'll give me another lecture if we're late! C'mon, Kari! Dinner'll be soon!"

"But Jordan…" Kari whined, coming back towards him through a row of bushes. "I was having _fun_."

"I know, Kari," Jordan sighed as he zipped her jacket back up. They were having an unexpected cold snap and it was getting cold outside. "I was having fun too. But we _do_ need to get home."

The two set off toward the orphanage, with Hikari pouting.

Twenty feet down the street, Gatomon jumped out of the shadows, effectively terrifying Jordan and ending her Chosen's pout.

"Gato!" Hikari cried, wrapping her 'pet' in her warm, thickly layered arms.

"Don't _do_ that! Do you have any idea how much you scared me?" Jordan demanded of the cat.

Gatomon made a hissing sound, vocalizing her displeasure at being scolded, and the brown-eyed girl giggled as they continued on their way.

The two got inside late and Jordan got a lecture from Mother Lei about punctuality and looking after younger children.

Kari got the punctuality lecture and one on listening to her elders. Kari then asked what 'elder' meant, slipping back into Japanese when she tried to explain that she _hadn't_ been trying to be disobedient, but merely hadn't heard Jordan's first calls. The Mother Superior had to ask Hikari gently to repeat herself in English, as the girl looked ready to cry.

After the lectures, the two were released to go to dinner, but their playtime would be lessened for the following week and they would have a few more chores to do during that time. Neither child was pleased with this, but there was nothing they could do to change their punishment.

* * *

"What!" Taichi screeched. "I have to go _where_?"

"You are going to summer camp," Mrs. Yagami told him sternly. "This is not the first time the subject has come up, young man."

"But I don't want to!" the ten-year-old protested. "I have friends here!"

"It's only for a week," his mother retorted. "You'll make new friends. And maybe it'll get you off the internet so much," she added distastefully.

Taichi muttered a few choice words under his breath: most of the sites he went to were about missing children and he was looking for a clue about Kari.

"What was that?" Lily demanded.

"I said, if my being online so much bothers you, why do you never tell me to get off?" Tai knew he'd crossed the line when he saw his mother's eyes grow cold.

A second later, he was looking in another direction entirely and his cheek stung badly.

"What was that?" Lily repeated icily.

"Nothing," Tai muttered sullenly, staring at his feet, resisting the urge to rub his cheek. There was going to be a _big_ bruise this time. Absently, he wondered how long it would last… and how long his parents would stay together. They'd been fighting for years, but it had recently gotten much worse. "May I go out?"

"For an hour," Lily answered, not at all upset that she'd just slapped her son. "But you _will_ go to summer camp, whether you like it or not."

Silently, Taichi left the living room and slipped his shoes on before leaving.

* * *

"This sucks," Yamato muttered to himself. His father was taking a business trip somewhere that weekend, and so Yamato had the choice of staying with his grandmother or… Actually, Mr. Ishida didn't know about the other choice yet. The blond boy was going to see if he could stay with his mom and TK for the weekend, since it _was_ the one weekend of the month where he got to see his brother outside of school.

_Let's see, which game should I play?_ he wondered to himself. He needed something to occupy himself until his dad got back.

And maybe he could convince his father to not make him go to that summer camp the next month…

* * *

Takeru was happily talking himself through the work his mother had given him.

"Mommy doesn't want me playing video games, so she told me to make her pictures for the fridge, so I'm gonna make one of me'n'Light. She'll like that one. And I'll do one of her and me, and one of Yama and…" TK was so absorbed in his work that he didn't realize his mother was behind him until she gave him a hug.

"And how're you, Takeru?" Nancy asked her youngest son.

"I'm fine, Mommy," he replied, giving her a smile. "Want to see the pictures?"

"Sure," Nancy answered, laughing a bit as he knocked his box of colored pencils over. "I'll pick those up while you pick the picture, okay?" Takeru had many pictures spread around him on the table.

"This is the one I want to show you, Okaasan," the blond boy said, finally choosing a drawing.

Nancy looked up to see a beautiful drawing, with two children in the middle holding hands and beaming and two adults just behind them with their hands on the children's shoulders. The eyes of the adults were sad and wise and full of love, and seemed to be warning of a great danger.

The children appeared to about eight or so and the boy was dressed in yellow summer clothes and shoes and was… astoundingly like Takeru. Except for her mind refusing to believe that her son had drawn himself so perfectly, she would instantly say that Takeru had drawn himself. The man behind him also bore some resemblance to her son, though not nearly as much. The males were bathed in golden light.

The girl that the young boy was holding hands with had brown hair and eyes, and looked as innocent as could be, though her eyes hinted at some deep pain in her past. Dressed in yellow and pale pink, the brunette appeared content with what and where she was.

The woman behind her looked similar to the girl, but her hair was much longer and she and the man were dressed in white robes. Her eyes were sad, but shone with faith and love and Nancy felt that the woman would protect the girl with her life, no matter what.

The same feeling emanated from the man, and Nancy felt safe, knowing that, if it really was her son in the picture, he would be protected and loved so well.

The girls were bathed in rose light and where the humans touched, the lights mingled together.

The background was deep navy where it touched the lights but faded to baby blue by the time it hit the edges.

"TK, this is… wonderful." The words felt strange coming out of her mouth and she knew her voice did not sound normal.

"Mom?" Takeru questioned. "What's wrong? You sound funny. Is it the picture?"

"No, honey," Nancy managed, the distant and logical part of her mind noting that he did not claim the picture as his own. "I'm just a little tired. Do you want to put this on the fridge before we clear the table for lunch?"

"Okay," the blond boy agreed. Then he thought for a moment. "Okaasan," he said seriously. "Could we put in a frame or something? I don't want anything to happen to it. And it might get bent or wrinkled if we leave it on the fridge."

"Alright," Nancy agreed, ruffling her son's hair. "I'll take care of this picture and you put the others away. Then we'll have lunch. You can pick what we eat."

"YAY!" Takeru shouted gleefully. He never got to pick the food choices.

_What did I just say?_ Nancy thought mournfully, shaking her head as she went to hunt around for a picture frame of the right size.

**AN:** Yes, I know this one was short, but I felt I needed to prove to my readers that I still exist. Oh, BTW, I terrified myself when I wrote the picture scene. The image just popped up in my head when I was finishing up Matt's scene and then my hands started writing… Tell me what you think, okay? Also, Okaasan means mother, as far as I know.


	9. Chapter Nine

**AN:** Sorry for taking forever/kowtows/ And does anyone else hate the 'no more review replies' shit? So, everyone, please either be signed in or leave your email if you wish me to reply to you. /pouts about review replies being banned/

**Disclaimer:** I own only Cecilia and Mimi's friend in this chapter. Nothing and no one else.

**CHAPTER NINE**

Laughing, Mimi clambered onto the bus. It was true; she did not really want to go to summer camp—there was no air conditioning at camp—but for she had some friends she could talk for the whole time. That would help.

Choosing a seat next to one of her friends, she waved to her parents as the bus pulled away. Then she turned back to her pink-clad friend.

"Now, where was it you were saying that you got that _beautiful_ dress?"

——————————

Jou sighed as he climbed onto the bus. He _really_ did not like summer, and his parents were sending him to an _active_ camp, of all things. Could things get any worse?

A loud crash and shouting came from the front. Two boys, a brown-haired boy and one with dirty blond hair were fighting.

"Kuso," he muttered with a sigh as he sank lower into his seat. "What a wonderful way to start of the worst summer of my life."

——————————

"Yama! Stop it!" the young Takeru cried as his brother began fighting another boy. "Stop it! You said you wouldn't get in any fights this time! Yama!"

His brother did not hear him and went on punching the boy with goggles.

TK looked around frantically to see if anyone was trying to get the other boy to stop. There was a redhead coming toward the front of the bus with an angry look on her face. Maybe she could help make his brother stop fighting!

Then a muscular counselor from the front seat was there, pulling the two angry boys apart, holding them in the air and giving them a hard shake to get them to calm down. It worked, especially when Yamato saw Takeru near where his feet were dangling and the redhead slapped the goggle boy.

"Are you _insane_, Tai-chan? You get in enough fights with a soccer ball; don't start one here! If you _dare_ to try something like this again, I will personally _kill_ you!" she hissed.

The brown-haired boy muttered, "I'll be good, Sora-chan." Then the counselor hauled the fighters up front for a 'chat.'

"Hi. I'm Sora," the redhead told TK. "Was that your brother? Taichi's an idiot and keeps annoying other people. The counselor is gonna keep them up there until we get to camp. Trust me, Taichi's been up there before, so I know. Wanna sit with me?"

Takeru nodded and introduced himself as the ten-year-old led him to her seat in the back.

Maybe he would make at least one new friend this summer.

——————————

Koushiro barely mastered a groan when he saw the cabin arrangements. Four kids to a cabin, and he was partnered up with the two fighting idiots and someone named "Kido Jou." If he were lucky, the third kid would not be _another_ athlete. They could never understand why he was willing to sit in front of his laptop all day. Thankfully, his parents didn't realize that it had a wireless internet connection.

——————————

"Kari! Kari, wake up, dear," Sister Cecilia said, shaking the eight-year-old.

"Huh?" the brunette mumbled as she lifted her sleepy head from her desk.

"Class is over now," Cecilia said with a smile. "Did you enjoy your nap?" Under normal circumstances, Kari would have blushed and mumbled an apology. But these apparently were not normal circumstances, because Hikari shook her head and began to speak.

"I think I missed something… In my dream, I was running after something. Or maybe it was someone… It felt like Hope. But there were other lights with Hope… Why would I be running after Hope? He said we would meet again."

"I don't know," Cecilia admitted. She had never gotten a full understanding of who "Hope" was, even though Kari went to her more than to the other nuns. "Maybe you tried to meet him too early."

"Maybe…" Kari mumbled, still feeling uneasy. "Is it lunchtime now?"

"Yes, it is," the nun laughed. "C'mon. We'll go get lunch together." She offered Kari her hand.

Kari took it and they headed out of the classroom together, Gatomon soon joining them.

——————————

**AN:** GOMEN NASAI! I SWEAR I didn't mean to take so long on this thing! Nor did I originally intend to be this short… But what do you think? Feel free to use the PM thing to nag me whenever you think I'm taking too long on a chapter! Also, check my profile for a contest! It's near the top! One of the notices. Feel free to enter.


	10. Chapter Ten

**AN:** Sorry for taking forever! I _SWEAR_ I didn't mean to take over a year to update! Everyone, please either be signed in or leave your email if you wish me to reply to your review.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anyone who appears on the show. Therefore, in this chapter, I own only Mimi's friend, the counselor with muscles, and Sister Cecilia.

**CHAPTER TEN**

"Gatomon?" Hikari asked hopefully. "Can we go back to the Digital World again soon? I wanna see Wizardmon again."

With a yawn, the digimon stretched in that way only cats can and answered, "If you just want to see Wizardmon, I can call him, you know. We run risks when we actually go to see him."

"But I wanna see the Digital World too!" the girl protested. "I _like_ it there! Besides," she added softly, "there's someone there now who needs me to come."

Instantly wary, Gatomon's ears pricked toward her Chosen as she asked carefully, "Do you know why this someone needs you to come to the Digital World?" There seemed at times to be this second person inhabiting her partner's body who would occasionally come out and it was at these times when "Hope" would be mentioned or there would be talk of this stranger who "needed her to come."

"Not really," Hikari shrugged, turning her honestly earnest face towards her Digimon. "But Hope _needs_ me. I'm supposed to be with him!"

"Kari," Gatomon sighed. "Do you even know who Hope _is_? Or where in the Digital World we can find him?"

"No," the girl whispered, arms around her knees as she stared at the floor. "Not really. But he _needs_ me!"

"We'll go to the Digital World tomorrow morning," her partner gave in, "if you're feeling well. If not, we won't, okay? Right now, it's too late."

"Okay," Hikari agreed happily, hugging Gatomon tight.

Gatomon's air came out in a rush as the child's arms lovingly tried to crush her lungs. _I still don't think we should go, but if it makes her happy…_

——————————

Takeru was wandering around the camp, trying to think of something that would make his brother happy. Yamato was in a black mood, but thankfully nowhere near Taichi. The goggle-headed boy was spending the free hour up a tree. Yamato was spending it in the cabin.

What would cheer his brother up? It wasn't like it had been when he'd been little and giving just about anything to Yamato would make him happy.

Wait… his brother had been complaining about losing his harmonica earlier. Maybe Takeru could find it.

With this thought in mind, the boy began to retrace his brother's steps since that morning's wake-up call, not noticing as snow began to fall from the sky.

——————————

Koushiro sighed and stared down at his laptop. _Why_ must it be so slow? He may have had a wireless connection, but he seemed to be paying the price with the speed of the thing. He had asked his parents for a faster one, but the answer was along the lines of "you need to go play outside and socialize." Socialize? Why would he want to talk to people who knew nothing about computers or technology in general and were constantly fighting? Even if he wanted to, what would they have in common? Being the same gender does not automatically best friends make.

"Why didn't I put up more of a fight?" he sighed. When he had first been told that he would be going to a summer camp, he had been happy, assuming that it was a computer camp. But his parents would not have been smiling so much if it was one. After all, they were the ones always trying to get him _off_ the computer and _outside_. Why couldn't they understand that he had no interest in the outdoors? He was not athletic in the least and was practically a hermit. He hid in his room or simply inside, always using some form of technology. Why should he have to spend a whole _two weeks_ with _idiots_? The other children, though they had seemed bright and energetic at first, had quickly proven to know _nothing_ about technology beyond what was necessary to work their music devices. He was disgusted.

Then his computer interrupted his resentful thoughts with the _bing_ of new mail.

Wait… who was this "Gennai"?

——————————

Yagami Taichi sighed and stared up at the sky through the tree branches. Summer was nice…

Screams from the brunette with the cowgirl dress and her friend punctured his daydream of being happy and his family whole again. _Damn them and their carefree lives…_ the boy thought grumpily before his thoughts returned to his baby sister and the trouble that had been caused by her absence.

The first year had been Hell, pure and simple. If Taichi wanted to go visit a friend after school, one of his parents _had_ to pick them up and drive them to the friend's home, even if it was less than a block away from the school. Then the parents would have to talk and talk until Taichi's parent was certain that the little boy would be safe. Then he or she would leave and the children would play until five o'clock sharp, where the same parent would hurry in and take Taichi home and ask millions of questions and worry until they were _sure_ nothing had happened that could further hurt or lead hurt to their family. Paranoid much?

Atop of that, they were visiting the morgue so often to see another potential Hikari—that was never Hikari—that the _entire_ _staff_ knew Taichi by name and on sight. More than half the reason for this, however, was that his parents never failed to make a continuous scene, from the moment they walked in the door to the moment they left it again. Taichi _hated_ it.

After the first year, things slowly calmed down. That wasn't to say that things were pleasant, oh no. Things were _far_ from pleasant. His parents constantly fought, usually about whether or not to continue 'wasting' their rapidly-dwindling funds to search for their youngest child. Occasionally, one of his parents would try to bring him into the argument or blame him for Hikari's disappearance and then the quarrel would become physical between his parents and Taichi would sneak out of the house to stay with Sora until both of them felt that it was safe for him to return. Then, once he got home, he would be lectured or screamed at for leaving without asking permission and being out past curfew, since he never returned before dark due to the possibility of continued fighting.

After a little over two years of this, Taichi's parents split, though it was unofficial. Every few months or so, for the last three years, his father would return to the apartment and his parents would manage to be civil when Taichi was around for a few weeks. But then they would fall into old habits and, within a week, Mr. Yagami was back on his own. His parents were currently filing for a divorce and fighting over who would get custody of him. Taichi was past caring. No matter who he ended up with, there was bound to be _some_ problem, _something_ keeping him and the parent from getting along, if only the absence of Kari.

If he was forced to choose a parent, however, he would choose his father. Over the years, the man had grown close to his son and never lay a hand on him in anger, even when occasionally drunk, unlike Lily.

But he didn't want his parents to divorce in the first place… if only Hikari would come home, everything could go back to the way it had been and his parents would love each other. The fights would be over and he would no longer have to worry if his parents really loved him or about Hikari. She would be there with him and their family would be normal and happy again.

A small voice whispered insidiously in the back of his mind that this was all dreams, that it would not—_could_ not—happen. His family would remain broken or shatter beyond all repair in the years to come. Taichi tried to squash this voice and ignore the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, but he failed. That tiny grain of truth and fear proved impossible to box up and ignore, until the boy noticed something that drove all thought from his mind.

It was snowing and the sky was glowing with multicolored lights and numbers where the lights blurred together. Why was this so familiar? What bits of memory were tickling him, refusing to come out into the light?

Taichi nearly fell out of his tree as the sudden gust of wind heralded in his memories from that childhood dream.

Lights and numbers in the sky?

Dinosaurs, giant parrots, danger, and destruction.

Hikari.

——————————

The seven children soon all found their attention drawn to the snow, pulling them away from everything they had been doing. They no longer noticed anything but the opening of a portal to another world, those small lights slamming into the knee-deep snow in front of them, and a dim knowledge that others were around them. The camp did not exist, nor did their families or friends as the seven Chosen Ones found themselves picking up their blue digivices and the snow split into an ocean, engulfing them.

And so the DigiDestined were born.

——————————

**AN:** W00T!! After well over a year, I have FINISHED a chapter!!


	11. Chapter Eleven

**AN:** LONGEST CHAPTER YET!! Kudos to **Takarilvr** for reviewing so recently and getting the ball rolling with this fic again and giving me the motivation to finish it! Everyone, feel free to PM me if you think I'm taking too long! In fact, I really want you too! I write faster with motivation! Yay for **Takarilvr**!!

**Disclaimer:** I own only the Sisters, Jordan, the orphanage, Hikari's last name, and Hikari's social worker. I do not own anything or anyone that appears in any season of _Digimon_, nor do I own anything appearing in _The Wizard of Oz_. I also do not own St. Jerome Emiliani, the patron saint of orphans. He lived and died a long time ago. Don't sue me.

**CHAPTER ELEVEN**

Hikari frowned at her social worker. "I have a cat. Her name is Gatomon," she repeated obediently. Her Japanese was being tinged with what Americans called "a Southern accent" as she grew older and tried to fit in at school.

"Very good, Hikari-chan," her redhead, middle-aged social worker praised in the same tongue. "We don't want you forgetting your native language if we can find some trace of your past. Are you sure you don't remember anything before waking up here?"

Hikari scowled and switched to English as Gatomon hissed, responding to the upsetting topic change. "I've _told_ you it was just dark. Someone was hurting me. I don't remember my birth family. It's in my name: Hikari St. Jerome Emiliani. I have the name of my home. You're more excited about finding strangers than I am." Her voice was beginning to rise and her distress become apparent. The social worker quickly tried to sooth the child.

"All right, perhaps we're just trying too hard. We can work on it again later. How's school going? Are you having fun? How are your classes?" But the damage was done. The Chosen Child clammed up, crossing her arms and glaring at the woman. Gatomon settled down, knowing the woman was not going to cause her partner more pain.

The social worker sighed. She could see in the stubborn jut of the child's chin that any more time spent would be time wasted. "I'll see you again in two weeks, Hikari-chan. We can continue then." Hikari retained enough of her manners to calmly walk the woman to the Mother Superior's office and appear calm until she was out of sight. Then she broke into a run, racing back to her room and slamming the door so hard it echoed down the stone halls. She threw a wooden block puzzle across the room and a bit of her anger was satisfied with the noise. She didn't dare scream, even into a pillow, for fear it would bring everybody nearby at a dead run.

"One of these days, you'll break that thing and have to explain to Jordan why you broke his present," Gatomon commented as she climbed in the open window and returned the toy to its rightful place. "Then what will you have to throw when that woman makes you mad?"

"I'm sorry, Gatomon," the girl apologized, the rest of her anger disappearing as her partner scolded and then came over for a hug. "She just keeps asking me the _same questions_. I _don't_ remember much before getting here and the only good things in it are you and Wizardmon. I don't _want_ to remember why it was so bad, and _she_ keeps trying to make me."

"Well, she's not here now and he's long gone. I won't let him hurt you anymore." Hikari shuddered at the mere reference, so Gatomon was glad she hadn't spoken her ex-master's name. "We won't be able to find Wizardmon for a while, though. He thinks someone is tracking him when he crosses between worlds and he doesn't want to accidentally lead an enemy to you and the rest of the kids here. Two Champions can't defend everyone here and the town from anything."

"But we can still go see him, right?" Hikari asked. "You said we could go look for Hope since I'm okay now."

"I said _maybe_," the digimon reminded her. "We should probably wait until the weekend. You're still in classes with the nuns and have chores. Friday night and Saturday are your free days, since only the teens are allowed to work outside in this heat."

Hikari sulked, but understood and accepted the reasoning. But it was _days_ until the weekend and Hope needed her _now_.

* * *

"Taichi! Taichi!"

What was that bouncing? Hikari used to do that, he vaguely remembered, when she thought he wasn't getting up fast enough and didn't want to use her whistle. But was that seriously Hikari's voice? He didn't think so, but how would he know after so long? The boy groaned and forced his eyes open as the bouncing and shrill, excited shouting continued.

Pale pink met his blurry vision. The same pink he remembered her footsies being. "Hikari?" he croaked, blinking. The blinking cleared his vision and he was able to see the figure bouncing on his chest.

"HOLY SHIT!!" All at once, the boy's pained body found reserves of energy and he found himself halfway across a tiny clearing, back to a tree—at least, he assumed it was a tree—, all his attention on the pink, bouncing blob with giant eyes and two strings that was most definitely _not_ his Hikari. Yes, he knew such words were bad and he wasn't supposed to know such things, but when you had two, angry, bitter, vindictive, divorcing parents that fought and screamed at each other when they forgot he was in the apartment or that being in another area of the apartment meant privacy, he heard and learned so many like words and phrases from his parents. "What _are_ you?" All of this came out of his mouth almost as a screech. An eardrum-piercing one. "And _how_ do you know my name?"

The pink _thing_ just kept bouncing, though now it had more words to emit, at a slightly lower volume. "Yay! Taichi's here! Taichi's here! Yay! Taichi woke up! Yay! Yay!" It had taken Taichi's speech as invitation to move to where the boy had run to and continue it's bouncing around him.

The boy with the googles sunk to the ground in a crouch with a groan, covering his ears in a vain attempt to block out the noise.

* * *

"Motimon, as much as I want to find the others and discover just what is going on, I was checking my mail when I was brought here and I am _going_ to finish! When I'm done, we'll go find the others and you can explain everything you want to, all right?" That said, the boy genius plopped down on the ground and opened his laptop, grateful that it hadn't been damaged in the fall between worlds. He'd been too distracted by the device now attached to his carrying case to put it _into_ the case. Luckily, there was no damage and he was still connected to the Internet… supposedly. He was still in his Inbox, which would not change if his computer had suddenly lost access to the Web. Now, to discover who this "Gennai" writing to him was…

Ten minutes later, Koushiro was in a daze, allowing the little pink creature lead him every which way in the forest. Really, the creature was like a knee-high, pink child dressing up in a sheet as a ghost… without the child. He was seeing but not taking in any of his surroundings, nor noting any of the differences between here and home or the camp. He didn't notice that voices were coming from nearby, one of which he would've recognized, or that Motimon hurried towards the sound of those voices, saying something about "find the others." Pink elephants could have been dancing around him or a pride of lions circling to devour him and he would not have noticed. The email he'd just read consumed his thoughts, leaving his body on autopilot.

* * *

"Will you _stop_ already?" Yamato demanded, scowling at the bespectacled boy as he held his new partner in his arms, sword-sharp horn prudently facing away from his body. "Honestly, it's not going to eat you." The other boy's mouth opened to voice a protest and the blond promptly cut him off. "Even if it liked human flesh, its mouth is too small. It can't eat you, so calm down."

"Where _are_ we?" Jyou wailed, managing not to scream and run some more as the seal-like creature introduced as Bukamon landed on his shoulder for the third time.

"Tokomon says this is the Digital World," Takeru replied from the base of a tree where he sat, playing with his new partner while the older boys argued. "Can we go find the others now? I think all of us who ran outside are here somewhere. That means me, you two, Mimi-chan, Sora-chan, Koushiro-kun, and Yagami-san." Yamato frowned at how his baby brother automatically gave the goggle-boy a honorific of respect, but tried not to let the younger boy see it. Takeru was so easy to upset and that was the _last_ thing he wanted, especially in this strange space.

"C'mon," he sighed, free hand moving automatically in a "follow-me" gesture towards the others as he turned and headed through the trees. "Let's go find the others."

* * *

The pink-clad girl _so_ missed the air conditioning. It was _so_ humid here! Why couldn't she go home? Or at least have a _bath_? And why did she have to be following a creature that looked like a giant, talking bulb with eyes, a mouth, and feet?

"So where are we going?" she asked, trying in vain to ignore the heat even as she fanned herself and her guide with her large, cowgirl hat.

"To find the others, of course," Tanemon replied. "Once all of us are together, we'll meet with Gennai and he'll explain _everything_. That's what he does, you know. He collects information and watches over the Digital World and all of us and he…"

Mimi couldn't help herself: she tuned out at that point. She tried to have good manners, but honestly, could she be blamed for a little lapse after the day she'd had?

* * *

"Oh, so you guys are here too? Good, I was starting to think I was the only one." Sora sighed in relief as she spotted the two boys and hurried over to them and their partners.

"Who's that, Yokomon?" the tiny, vaguely-human-shaped, pink creature asked.

"This is Dorothy Gale," Yokomon responded to the momentary confusion of the boys. "Who are yours?"

Motimon's response was cut short before it even had life by laughter from Koushiro as he snapped out of his email-induced daze. "You said your name was _Dorothy Gale_?" he gasped out. "I may not know for certain where we are, but it is _not_ Oz! There's no road!" Taichi still looked confused.

Sora glared at the genius murderously. So what if her father had fed her American movies as long as she could remember? So what if the circumstances brought that movie to her mind first? So what if she felt like the Kansas girl just now? It had been a _slip of the tongue_, for goodness's sake! Did he have to make such a big deal out of it? "It was an _accident_, okay? An accident! I didn't mean to say that!"

"So what's your name then, Dorothy?" the new partner asked, plainly wounded by being misled, however accidentally.

"I'm Sora. Just Sora. _Not_ Dorothy." She punctured this with another glare at Koushiro. Then she took pity on her confused friend. "Dorothy Gale's the main character in _Wizard of Oz_. It's an American movie from the forties and she's sent to a strange world called Oz when she's trapped in a tornado. The circumstances are almost the same in the movie as here. _Will you stop laughing already_?" This last bit was screeched at the other boy, still on the ground in throes of amusement.

"G…gomen ne," he managed after the laughter died, which took considerably longer than she wanted it to. He was having problems catching his breath. "It's just… it's just so…" The boys was unable to finish his sentence, holding his aching sides. He was going to wait for the ache to subside before he tried to sit up again. At least his computer was properly put away this time, so he knew it wasn't damaged.

"Well, is it just us three or are there more?" Sora asked her best friend, deciding for the moment to ignore the boy on the ground.

"There's more," the pink blob in Taichi's arms answered. "Four more children and four more digimon."

"Four more what?" Taichi asked, not liking this state of confusion.

"Digimon," Yokomon supplied helpfully. "We live here. Nearly all the creatures you'll see here are digimon. I'm a digimon, Motimon's a digimon, and Koromon's a digimon." She looked up at Sora. "Motimon's the pink one on the ground and Koromon's in your friend's arms." Sora smiled her thanks.

"Why don't we all find Gennai?" Motimon suggested. "All the others can meet up with us once we find him."

"Gennai?" Koushiro demanded, sitting up so quickly some blood _had_ to rush from his brain. "He's here?"

"Do you know him?" the others demanded. It just wasn't _fair_, Koushiro always knowing everything first.

"He sent me an email," the boy stuttered. "I thought it was just some junk mail or spam or maybe even chain mail at first, but then all this happened and it _has_ to be true. He's the one who brought us here. He says the seven of us are the 'Chosen Children,' whatever that is, and that we're supposed to make things right here. First we have to find each other, then these things called 'tags' and 'Crests,' though he didn't explain how, then we can work on fixing things and getting home. Things are unstable between the Digital World—here—and home, so we can't just be sent back now. It could kill us or we could end up in another dimension entirely. The odds are microscopic of getting home in one piece, let alone alive. If we fix things here, it should somewhat stabilize things between the worlds and we'll help him fix the rest. It's too dangerous, otherwise."

"Let me get this straight," Taichi said softly, not noticing that his grip on Koromon was becoming such that the digimon was starting to squirm in minor discomfort. His cold, angry eyes bored holes into Koushiro and the other boy wondered with real dread if Taichi was trying to see into his very soul. "Some stranger, who doesn't know anything about any of us, picked us to be some sort of 'world saviors' and brought us here, _knowing it was dangerous and possibly deadly_, and now won't let us go home because of _that same danger_? Since he won't send us home we have to play by his rules and go on a worldwide search for something he wants? Is that it?" The scary part about when Taichi was _this_ angry was that his voice got quiet instead of exploding the way it usually did when he was angry and the speechlessness of rage that others got turned into eloquence for him. He hadn't been like this as a young child and no one really knew where this tendency had come from, but no one was quite sure if it would be better or worse to be subjected to this quiet, eloquent rage of Taichi's or the screaming, kicking, hitting, tantrum-throwing child he had been once upon a time.

Sora went over and laid a hand on her friend's arm. No matter how furious he got, she knew he would never harm her. He glanced down and realized how tight he was squeezing his new partner. He let go, allowing the digimon to jump to the ground, and fought to keep from completely losing his temper. Koushiro was just the messenger. He had to keep reminding himself of that. It did no good to harm a messenger who had no control over the message. He couldn't let himself make all relations permanently sour with one motion. It wouldn't help anything. Now when he got his hands on this 'Gennai' who did all this…

While one boy fumed and steamed, the other boy, the girl, and all three digimon began making plans on how they would meet up with this 'Gennai.' He apparently lived under the ocean, off the mainland of Server, so that would be their first stop, but which way was this ocean and how would they get there? How would they get to Server if they were on File Island? Would they stick around for a few days first to see if they could find the other four children they had been told were there or hope they could find him on their own? They decided to wait, just in case. What sort of shelter would they have? Neither of them could make shelter, so they'd have to hope for caves or sleep straight out on the grass. What would they do for food? The digimon said they knew what was edible and what wasn't. They could also help the Destined start fires, if needed. The children couldn't see _how_, but knew better than to question the inhabitants of this strange world who wanted to help them. For one thing, it would be terribly rude.

That was as far as they got before being joined by a girl clad in a pink cowgirl outfit. Sora hoped her groan was inaudible. The girl was so whiny! But she promptly made what introductions she could—thankfully, the digimon introduced themselves—and Koushiro quickly brought Mimi up to speed. By the time he finished and they realized they couldn't think of any more questions, Taichi pulled himself out of his angry thoughts.

"Do we have any short-term plans?" he asked. There was no way to outwardly tell that a few moments ago he'd been considering horrible violence. "I mean, what are we going to do for dinner or where we'll sleep tonight? There's no way something like this can be solved in one afternoon and the sun's already starting to set." He pointed and all could see how the sky was slowly turning red. He appeared calm for now, but Sora knew from experience that when he met up with the person he blamed for all this, out would come the fury and possibly a few blows in addition to it…or if someone managed to hit just the right buttons… She sent up a quick prayer that they wouldn't meet up with Ishida Yamato until they'd found Gennai. They didn't have the medical supplies to deal with the aftermath of the fight that would surely occur.

"There's some nice caves over there," Motimon replied, pointing in the opposite direction so everyone could see that he meant the cliff that towered over everything. "We can stay in one of them tonight and then tomorrow make more plans. We digimon can get our own food and we can help you humans find things that you can eat. If we can eat the same things, you won't have to go find your own food. There won't be any meat, though. We're all to small to catch anything. What do you think?"

"Can we get all the way over there before dark? No offense, this area could be totally safe, but until we know that I want to sleep under some sort of roof," Taichi asked. Sora seconded the idea. Mimi was still absorbing the fact that they _weren't_ in Japan and there was absolutely _no_ air-conditioned buildings nearby, to say nothing of _actual houses_.

"How fast are you, Taichi? Huh? Huh? If you're fast, we can make it and get food before it gets dark. How fast are you?" Koromon was jumping up and down again, his eternal optimism impervious to Taichi's mood swings and lack of affection for him.

"Unless we all move slower than a wounded Whamon beached on land, we can make it before dark," Tanemon put in. "C'mon, Mimi. Let's go." The other digimon also entreated their Chosen Children to move and it was only seconds before they were on their way through the woods, Motimon leading and Taichi just behind with Koromon and Koushiro. The girls and their partners made up the back.

To keep Mimi from whining, after noticing how tightly fisted Taichi's hands had gotten in their gloves, Sora convince Yokomon to give them all a running commentary on life in the Digital World. It kept Mimi quiet and Taichi calmed, letting the cheerful voice run over him without taking in any of the words.

True to their words, the Chosen made it to the cave before the sun fully set and the digimon went scavenging in pairs. They came back with many an unusual plant—though _every_ plant in the Digital World was strange to the Destined—and even a few fish. When asked where the fish came from, Tanemon showed the children to the nearby river. She was more than a little surprised when Taichi immediately threw himself in the water, soaking himself, and the other three stooped to drink. The other digimon gave clueless gestures when she looked to them for explanation. On the way back to camp, Sora commented to Taichi, "Good luck drying out. Our cave's all nice and cool and the sun's going down anyway. Don't get sick." Taichi just stuck his tongue out at her, bad mood washed away for now by the impromptu bath and swim. But he took off his shoes and socks, deciding to walk barefoot until these items were dry.

Back at the camp, a fire was made, and Taichi lay out his socks, shoes, and damp, clothed self next to it while their fish cooked. After all, even if he couldn't cook most things without a microwave, he could roast fish. Everyone nibbled on the plants and kept silent while they waited for the seafood.

Mimi had figured out that there really wasn't any air-conditioning and whining would not get her anything, unlike at home. So she stayed quiet and waited for someone else to make the first move. Sora and Koushiro simply had nothing to say, having made all their plans earlier. Taichi—in the part of his mind that wasn't concentrating on the food—alternated raging at this Gennai and his own helplessness and worrying about his parents. They had already mysteriously lost one child; now this Gennai had taken the other. What would they say when the camp told them of his disappearance? Would it devastate them the way Hikari's had? Or would the previous experience help them deal with his? Would his parents come back together to deal or would this drive them even further apart? How could Gennai do this? How could he just take _children_ from their families with not even so much as a note or clue? Wait… The boy bolted upright, all attention on this germ of an idea forming in his mind, food forgotten. _What if Gennai had taken Kari?_ It would make sense… There were no clues from the scene in either case and if the flying devices and falling ocean were only for group summonings then it was completely possible… wasn't it? Taichi was so taken with the hope consuming him that he didn't even notice or smell when the food began to burn.

"Crap, Taichi!" Sora swore at him and sucked on her burned fingers after waving them in the air. She had grabbed the sticks as the fish began to burn and accidentally touched one. "You better hope it gets better or I'm blaming you! You get the worst one!" She shoved the blackened fish at the startled boy, who took it, and then handed out one each to both digimon and humans. Taichi turned over so the other side of all his clothes could dry out by the fire.

At the end of the meal was when they got their biggest surprise yet.

Four orbs of white light and perhaps seven seconds later, the digimon they had been traveling were gone. The blue devices each child had attached to him- or herself had glowed nearly as brightly as the orbs during the event and now gave off a dull, white glow that was quickly fading.

"Koromon digivolve to Agumon!"

"Tanemon digivolve to Palmon!"

"Motimon digivolve to Tentomon!"

"Yokomon digivolve to Biyomon!"

"What happened to you guys?" Surprisingly, Mimi was the first one to get over her speechlessness. Perhaps it was because she had been silent for a full evening and most of an afternoon.

"We digivolved," Palmon reported happily. "It must've been the food. We ate enough and moved up a level. Oh, don't worry," she added hastily, misreading the looks of shock on the children's faces, "Now that we've hit Rookie, we can only go up to Champion if you're in danger. It's practically impossible for us to digivolve otherwise. That's why there's lots of Baby digimon—only in Primary Village, though—and In-Trainings and Rookies, but not as many Champions and _definitely_ not as many Megas. It's just too hard to keep up that level of energy." Koushiro had snapped out of his shock and was quickly typing all this information into a document on his computer.

"So… level of energy equals the level a digimon achieves?" he asked, looking up after he finished typing. An affirmative answer put his head back down and a quick typing session ensued. "Is there anything else that can affect the level?"

"Er… being badly wounded can drop us down a level," Tentomon replied hesitantly. "I don't know of anything else." He looked at the other digimon, who all shook their heads. They didn't know either.

"Okay, you were just Koromon, weren't you?" asked Taichi of Agumon warily.

"I'm Agumon now," the dinosaur answered happily. "My In-Training form is Koromon and my Rookie form is Agumon. Tentomon was Motimon, Palmon was Tanemon, and Biyomon was Yokomon. Get it now?"

"I get it," the goggle-headed boy nodded. He prodded his shoes and socks before picking them up. "I'm dry, I'm going to bed now." He got up and wandered into the cave, preparing to claim his space of the stone floor. Too bad they hadn't thought of getting something to sleep on. What was there to sleep on anyway? He didn't think leaves or grass would help much. He was _not_ going to think about the day he'd just been through. He was just going to sleep and that was _all_. He was _not_ going to think about the day he'd just been through. Not a _chance_.

With Taichi's sudden absence and reaction, a depressive atmosphere was set on the rest of the group. It was only minutes before the fire began to be clumsily destroyed with handfuls upon handfuls from the river's bank. They would have used something else, but it was discovered that they had nothing to carry water in since Mimi wouldn't let them use her hat and she _definitely_ wouldn't let them put _sand_ in it. Sora spent all the time in Mimi's earshot grumbling about how much faster it would go with an _actual container_ and Koushiro was also grumpy by the end of it. Mimi, so uncomfortable and far outside her realm of experience, shrunk in on herself and didn't say a word. The digimon tried to help and get the humans to make right, but it wasn't working. Part of this was how new they all were to each other: none of the digimon wanted to come across as bossy so they didn't push and all of the children were so tired that none of them was in a good mood or willing to listen, even if the digimon had followed instincts and pressed the children into sitting down and talking things out.

It was easily an hour before the fire was sufficiently buried for the children to feel safe about it and they could go claim their own spaces in the rock room. Once there, they stretched out and not even the discomfort of the hard stone was enough to keep them from sleep for more than a few seconds. The digimon arrayed themselves in a sloppy line at the entrance. Anyone who wanted to get to their partners was going to have to go through _them_ first.

* * *

Not too far away in the woods, Jyou was twitching awake at every noise in the darkness, all senses on full alert. He wasn't even willing to take off his glasses.

"Calm down, Jyou," Bukamon sighed for the umpteenth time, pulled back into wakefullness by yet another twitch of his partner. Honestly, did this boy not know what trust meant? "There's nothing out there. Tsunomon's watching for any problems right now. Anything happens, he'll wake all of us up and we'll either run or fight it off. When he gets tired, I'll watch. When I get tired, Tokomon will watch… if he can get out of Takeru's arms." The seal-like digimon glanced over next to Jyou where the brothers were sleeping, Yamato with an arm over Takeru curled up against him, Takeru holding his partner as though he were just a teddy bear or stuffed animal. Tokomon didn't seem to mind, as he was sleeping. "If not," he continued, "Tsunomon will watch again. You're safe. Calm down and go to sleep."

Reluctantly, Jyou lay back down, wishing he had a blanket. If only he'd thought to pack one in his first aid kit! It seemed as though he had everything else in there! Bandages, bottles of peroxide, gauze, and tongue depressors were only the first things to come to mind.

Something creaked in the light breeze.

_Whatwasthat?_ Jyou shot upright again, heart racing in panic.

"Jyou," Bukamon groaned, "_go to sleep!_"

So passed the first day in the Digital World.

**

* * *

**

**AN: **I FINISHED!! **cheers for self** Okay, I'm sorry I took so long, but it's just _barely_ a year this time! I've got most of the later chapters planned out, but the beginning of the Digital World has been a little rocky for me and it took me awhile to find the episodes (yes, I used YouTube!) in the original with subtitles instead of dubbed. I needed to see what had been changed and how _that_ was different from what my altered characters would do. Please, everyone, if someone seems OOC, TELL ME!! I need to know! I also need to know who, how, where, and maybe even what a _good_ reaction would have been. Is someone being too assertive, too aggressive, not aggressive enough, too caring, too callous, etc.? If you catch something like this (or misspellings or grammar mistakes, for that matter), please tell me. I can't always catch it in my own work. Thanks for being so patient!

**POLL:**

**How long should it take the two groups (Yamato's and Taichi's) to meet up again? One day? Until they get to the shore? Until they meet Gennai? Fight Devimon? Myotismon? Hunt for the Eighth Child? Never? I want input from readers on this one!**


	12. Chapter Tweleve

**Disclaimer:** See last chapter's. It all still applies.

**CHAPTER TWELVE**

That night Takeru dreamed. It wasn't a normal dream of nonsensical happenings. It was a dream with a purpose, that overwhelming purpose drowning out every sound he could have heard.

It was a dream of how things _should_ have been.

He saw all seven children meet up and group together as they first entered the Digital World.

He saw Taichi, leading through danger and finding safety, always full of confidence, even when he and Yamato came to blows—which was often.

In his dream, Yamato was sullen and distant, though more trusting than the Yamato Takeru knew. He grieved for this loss, knowing, somehow, that _this_ dream had little hope of being realized. After all, this dream was of what _should_ be, not what _would_ be.

Jyou was terrified of his partner, taking days instead of minutes to become completely comfortable around him. Somehow, in that time that should have been, the boy fussed over everyone and worried about everything even more than he did in this time.

Sora was loving and took care of everyone, especially Takeru, even when she looked more like she wanted to crack them all upside the head and leave them to their own devices. He knew she was here now, but he had no way to know what had changed.

It was the same with Koushiro and Mimi. Koushiro wanted to discover every tiny detail of the Digital World, often ignoring common sense to investigate something that had caught his attention. Thankfully, his partner was not quite so attached to the laptop and investigation and always pulled the boy genius out of danger.

Mimi whined a lot and was selfish, but Takeru could see her good side and just how sincere she was in every relationship she had and every word that she thought about before letting leave her mouth—which wasn't most of them. He believed she would outgrow the whining and selfishness so everyone could see her sincerity and growing passion to help.

Even seeing the other six together and knowing he was one of them, Takeru felt something missing. He wasn't sure that he _wanted_ to know what it was because it would mean acknowledging the image that flashed into his mind nearly every scene change of the group members.

It was of a girl his own age, with brown hair and red, haunted eyes. She wore summer clothes, sensible sneakers, and a necklace Takeru couldn't make out but was nevertheless drawn to. The worst thing about her, it seemed to him—as though trying to look at her eyes without breaking into tears wasn't bad enough—was the fact that her arms, from the first joint on each finger all the way up to her armpits, were covered in fabric. He didn't know what had happened for her to cover herself in such a way, but he felt that some part of him _did_ know.

He tried to ignore her while the dream lasted, focusing on the people he _knew_ and had _physically seen_ instead. It didn't make the longing to go to her and fix all her problems vanish, but he was able to see more and more of what should have happened, knowing he probably wouldn't remember when he awoke but trying anyway.

The last image he saw was himself a group of seven other children and eight digimon. Taichi, Sora, Yamato, Jyou, Mimi, Koushiro, and a strange girl his age who looked a lot like their leader were all there, the entire group seated together around a campfire, enjoying a rare, quiet evening. Taichi and Yamato were cooking dinner, arguing good-naturedly as the others just sat and talked.

Everything was perfect, just the way it was supposed to be.

The youngest knew what should have been and now could never be and he woke up crying for the loss of such an idyllic time. After he ran out of tears and his brother given all the comfort he could, Takeru lay in a drained daze, holding his partner that was so like a stuffed animal close. It was when he thought he was going to be able to sleep without nightmares that another, more horrible truth hit him. He knew what was and should never have been and he cried for what had been lost. He had a guess that was _almost_ knowledge of what would be mixed in with this new truth and his throat, nose, and mouth burned with the abuse and loss of moisture he had put them through long before the tears and pain could be temporarily buried. Tokomon was quiet, soaked and mucus-splattered down through at least all his fur and a few layers of skin, willing to be the comfort Takeru needed to hold in his arms until the boy was willing to talk of what was so horrible.

Bukamon looked on in worry, surprised that Jyou's exhaustion had caught up with him to the point that he wasn't even twitching at the _very_ loud noise when he _had_ been jerking up at a leaf falling off a branch. Bukamon knew he could do nothing for the smallest one and Yamato had gone to help Tsunomon keep watch and _probably_ couldn't hear. Yamato had left after his brother had slipped into a semi-conscious state, wanting to be of some use and knowing he could no longer do anything for the one most precious to him. This didn't look like the earlier tears that the older blonde had been able to slow, though not stop, the tears that came from a dream. It was something worse than a dream, something that seemed to be worse than reality, if Bukamon wanted to guess. From Yamato's behavior, being pulled from their own world to another was not the first time he and his brother had encountered harsh reality, so the tears weren't from that or shock. What could be so heartbreaking to this eight-year-old then?

Coming to a difficult decision, Bukamon left his place at Jyou's side and glided over to the sniffling child. Tokomon looked up at him with profound relief. He wanted to help his Chosen, he really did, but Takeru was squeezing so _tight_ and now he felt so _nasty_, covered in a mixture of dirt, grass, salt water, and clear mucus.

"Everything will work out, Takeru," the gray digimon murmured as he draped a fin over the boy's body and looked at the face that was still buried in Tokomon's fur. "Yamato will take care of you, Jyou will fix _any_ bodily problem you may get,"—he couldn't quite keep his voice from showing how silly he thought Jyou's paranoia about germs and injuries and risks in general—"Tsunomon, Tokomon, and I will all do our best to take care of you and help out. If there's _anything_ you want to talk about, no matter what it is, I'll listen. I won't make fun of you for being small or ignore you because you're the youngest or anything like that. I'm small and young too. I want to help. What can I do?" _So steady_, some part of the boy's mind noted. _Just like Jyou should've been. I want him to make Jyou steady and solid again_. This would have brought on a few more drops, except for the fact that he simply had none left.

"I'll help too, TK," Tokomon squeaked from his position in the boy's arms. "I'm a good listener. And I'm even smaller and younger than Bukamon." The boy sniffed, smiled, and slowly unlocked his hands and arms from his death grip on his newfound partner. Bukamon got off when he felt the boy begin to move. Takeru was too worn out for words. The youngest of the Chosen Children held up the arm that wasn't underneath his partner and the oldest Destined's partner moved into the open space, generating reliable comfort.

When Yamato got back from his round of the area with Tsunomon, he saw his baby brother curled up on his left side, facing Jyou who was still a few meters away, holding both Tokomon and Bukamon close as he had his stuffed animals at home to sleep when younger.

"Guess we've got an all-night watch," he murmured to his new partner that he didn't—quite—trust yet. Yamato didn't always adapt to change well and growing up in a shattering marriage made trusting difficult. It was especially difficult to trust _anyone_ when there was _something_ hurting his baby brother. The fact that this something seemed confined to the realms of dreams and subconsciousness just made things worse. Yamato couldn't protect his baby brother from the boy's own mind.

Tsunomon didn't even grumble at the enforced, continued wakefulness when his partner settled in at the base of a tree to watch over the group until dawn and the continuation of their journey. He could sleep in Yamato's arms as they walked. If it made trusting him a bit easier for the boy, he'd do _anything_. A little lack of sleep was nothing when compared to not being trusted by the one to whom his very existence was bound.

--!--&--&--!--

Mimi decided subconsciously that she was going to be as quiet and cooperative as possible while this journey lasted long before she realized that such a plan had been considered, let alone agreed to. It was while she and Palmon were picking breakfast off of bushes as the sun began to breech the horizon that she realized that she was making plans for the day around staying with the group but away from them. Yesterday had been emotionally painful and she didn't particularly want to remember it, let alone replicate it twice over today, considering that she had the whole day ahead of her and yesterday had been less than half.

The girl had woken up long before dawn due to the uncomfortable "bed" she had and uneasy slumber from the previous day's experiences had more than canceled out the benefits of going to bed and falling asleep early.

"Palmon," she asked, so softly it was barely audible to her own ears, "what am I doing wrong? When I realized I wasn't going to get my way, I didn't whine about it. I want to go home more than anything else I've ever wanted, but I figured out yesterday that it won't happen just because I want it and say something. I've stopped complaining as much as I can. Doesn't that count for something? How do I make them like me? I don't know what I'm doing out here in the wilderness, but if they keep treating me the way they did yesterday, I think eventually being on my own and not having a knife or be able to start fires would be better than being with three kids that don't like me and get worse because I'm dead weight. How do I fix this?" The girl looked so miserable that Palmon's heart went out to her. She set her scavenges down at the entrance to the cave where all six others still slept and did the same with Mimi's pile. Koromon opened one eye, ready to defend his vulnerable partner, saw who it was, and went back to sleep.

Then Palmon took one of Mimi's hands and sat her down by the smothered fire. "Try to think of others," she whispered, not wanting to wake those in the cave. "Talk to them, watch whatever body language you know. If you think they want you to be quiet, unless it's very important, be quiet. Keep up your not-complaining. They're as upset at being pulled here as you are. Try to understand them. Watch. Keep quiet like you were planning. Try to help out. Ask questions if you're curious about something they're doing, but take a break if they start to get annoyed." The digimon smiled and hugged her partner. "Learning body language gets easier with time," she promised. "Once you know how they feel by watching their bodies, it'll be easier to keep them from getting mad at you. Unless it's something you've said," she added. "Knowing body language won't help that. But knowing how they feel will keep you from getting on dangerous ground if you don't have to."

The girl was quiet for a long time, loosely holding her partner in her lap, thinking over this bit of wisdom. "You're right. I'll do my best," she finally admitted, having examined the words from every possible angle and learning the truths Palmon spoke. She had accepted her partner's words as truth. Palmon knew the exact instant it happened. The acceptance had put Palmon a little more into Mimi's heart and increased the cobweb-thin connection between the digimon and her Destined another cobweb's width. Even this tiny connection would make it easier for Palmon to protect her partner and find the human girl if they were separated. She knew it was through Mimi that she would be able to digivolve and that couldn't happen without a real connection. She also knew that this increasing connection tied her very existence tighter and tighter to Mimi's. If something were to happen to Mimi—permanently, that is—, Palmon would vanish too. She didn't think it worked the other way. After all, Mimi wasn't from this world, so she didn't _think_ this world would affect Mimi the way it would her partner.

"I'm glad," she whispered into her partner's dress. Mimi laid a careful kiss on one of her petals, following a feeling that she should do so. The feeling that it helped the digimon she was coming to think of as a friend was all she needed to know it had been the right thing to do.

The peaceful time for the two was slowly pulled apart by noises from the cave, signifying that the other three were now awake and would be out soon.

"Time to practice," Mimi whispered to herself as she got up to face the cave, her partner Palmon by her side.

--!--&--&--!--

Jyou was _very_ wary about this plan. This wasn't safe. This wasn't sanitary. There was _no way_ he would take any part, despite the fact that the others were all in favor and had put the plan in motion. There _had_ to be a better way. There just _had_ to be. This _couldn't_ be the best way out.

"Jyou," Bukamon growled from the top of the ledge, just barely visible in the growing darkness, "you are going to grab that vine, ignore the slime the way we all did, climb like your life depends on it, and get up here. You are _not_ going to spend so much as another _minute_ being indecisive and voicing your doubts. We know you have a lot. We can all recite them back at you. _We don't care._ Get up here. Now." Crashing in the underbrush, suddenly sounding terribly near, combined with his partner's words and tone, had Jyou reaching for the nasty vine. He wasn't going to think about what this might be covered with. He wasn't going to remember how horrible he'd always been at physical things. He wasn't going to remember how he'd always failed the rope climb in gym. He was going to—A howl of something shook the forest and the crashes intensified, cutting off his thoughts and implanting a new one in their place. Oh, Kami-sama, he was getting out of here!

"Wow, Jyou-kun, you took less time to get up here than any of us," Takeru laughed quietly from the back of the downward-sloping ledge, pressed up against the rock wall and his protective brother. The danger didn't seem quite real to him, being on a high ledge hidden from almost all sides and with his brother protecting him. He seemed more worried about the pebbles in the concave vertex of the jutting mountain where he sat, but even that barely bothered him. It was only when one noticed that he was very carefully and quietly removing the rocks from beneath him and placing them _just_ to the side, far from the edge, that one could see how this danger was affecting him. All the digimon noticed, even if his brother didn't and Jyou hadn't had a chance.

"Once Bukamon got mean," Yamato cut in. "Now get over here and hunker down. We can't risk getting seen by whatever-that-is. Tsunomon, cut the vine or get Bukamon to haul it up here for you. I don't care which, so long as you pick the faster option that won't get us caught. I don't want that vine in view of whatever's chasing us." The three obeyed, Bukamon holding the vine tense so Tsunomon could cut it and making sure it fell to the far-away ground and the end that still hung from the overhanging tree was wrapped around a branch where it looked natural and undisturbed.

The three boys flinched every time there was a crash or howl, no matter how close. Bukamon and Tsunomon arrayed themselves in front of the children, making sure that they themselves were still hidden from sight from all angles of enemies. Tokomon _wanted_ to help and watch, but Takeru was still holding him so tightly and he didn't have the heart to ask his partner to let go. If they _were_ found, he would manage to get away from TK's terrified grip and fight. The boys had all agreed that if the worst happened—though none specified what "the worst" was—, they would move up the cliff as fast as they could to the next overhang and hide there when possible, moving upwards when necessary. They had left the forest itself behind many meters below. It was no longer a place where they could hide.

Jyou carefully handed out five of the granola bars they had found in the bottom of Takeru's backpack the night before and then took one for himself. Yamato looked at the bespectacled boy like he was crazy, but took the bar when it was shoved at him. There hadn't been a chance to slow down to eat even something this small since almost dawn. Adrenline kept the hunger at bay, but the older boys and digimon recognized the need to eat now that they had a bit of breathing room, even if none of them felt even the tiniest hunger pains. All six of them cringed at the loud ripping of the wrapper, though they knew intellectually that it couldn't be heard by anyone not on their ledge. Takeru ate one and fed another to Tokomon as Jyou crawled forward to unwrap one for Tsunomon and help him be able to eat it. Bukamon grew even more watchful and alert as his watch-partner was occupied. Then Tsunomon had finished his and Jyou did the same for Bukamon as Tsunomon took the other digimon's place. That was when the tallest boy took out a water bottle, half-full, and passed it around, making sure everyone drank _something_. Adrenline could only do so much and they needed _some_ nourishment, having been on the run for hours, only ever able to slow slightly, never able to stop until they'd found this ledge.

Once everyone had partaken of the meager rations, Jyou took all the wrappers and shoved them into his shorts pocket on his right side. If they had to run, his bag, if nothing else, would smash the wrappers so flat that they would not be making any noise. The crinkling of wrappers because he shifted his leg while they were in hiding was _not_ how he wanted to be found! He was the oldest and Yamato was so protective of Takeru that the elder blond was likely to forget his own safety in his efforts to protect his baby brother. Jyou had to trust the digimon to protect the group and if the worst was to happen, it would be _his_ responsibility to keep the other children from danger. Yamato was likely to run right into danger to keep it from Takeru, but Jyou could tell that Takeru would not be able to manage at all if he lost his brother. So it would be up to Jyou would have to be careful and cautious and keep the group alive, acting rationally, and _away_ from those _things_ hunting for them in the forest below. He fought the urge to sigh, not wanting even the slight sound of exhalation of breath to lead their mysterious enemies to the utterly silent group.

Running for their lives had made the day _very_ long and the night was looking to be even longer.

--!--&--&--!--

Gennai observed his ever-changing map of the Digital World, a bit regretful that the File Island portion was roughly a day behind the actual happenings. He would have to update that portion of his technology again. This time lapse could make problems. Then he sighed in relief as the File Island sector underwent a world-shattering change. All seven bright lights appeared there, so close to each other that the man had to use the colors to count and separate them. Yes, originally there would've been eight, but Light had died, or as good as. He was vaguely sorry he could not have saved her, but they could manage without. They would have to. Sending Light's Bearer a digivice had never worked and no one he had communicated with had sent one between worlds since the last group. She was dead. There was no other reason for the sending to not work. A few evil digimon had, in the past, gotten control of digivices that had yet to be recovered, but all of them were alive and well, which meant they still had the digivices. Neither the locked-away Dark Masters nor Myotismon would have ever let a digivice out of their sight and it would be over their dead bodies that one was taken by a human child.

The Bearer of Light was dead. The new, younger one simply had been unable to receive a digivice and come, whether from illness or age.

The DigiDestined were cut down from eight to seven, and had lost a significant amount of power in that loss, but they would manage. The DigiDestined would banish the encroaching evil and learn what true power without corruption was.

His plans must change, but all would be right in the end.

No, wait… The seven were splitting into two groups! The man found himself being filled with shock and unreasonable anger. Why would they be doing such a thing? They had all been brought together to the same area; they should have all gathered together! Did they not know how their power would come from their unity? If nothing else, their partners should have told them of this! The seven had to bound together to even begin to make up for the absence of Light! Separated the way the Children now were, neither group had any chance of winning against the evil!

The ancient man had to close his eyes to the horrid repercussions the small dots on his map would bring about if things continued as they were. He focused on his breathing and waited for his heart to stop racing. Then he looked again, willing his mind to begin alterations of his ancient plans.

There was something to be salvaged, at least. The Bearers of Hope, Friendship, and Reliability were together. Good. The blood bond between Hope and Friendship would strengthen both and keep Friendship from faltering and Reliability would help Friendship when Hope could not. Hope and Reliability would feed off each other as Hope would always be there, bright as the rising sun. This was not without salvage. The first group could manage, so long as they didn't run into any _powerful_ evils, such as Devimon. Not even the awesome power of Hope would be able to stop him without the backing of the four other Children and their Crests. The bond wasn't strong enough yet. _Stay away from things more powerful than you, Children,_ Gennai begged those represented by the three dots that kept together in one place. Then he turned to the other group.

This was not good.

Courage, Love, Knowledge, and Sincerity were all grouped together. That in itself was not such a problem, but the light of Courage was so weak… Knowledge and Love were as brightly burning as they were supposed to be and stronger than those of the past, but Courage and Sincerity… Had the years since the Choosing worked away at those traits or was it simply something in the relationships between the DigiDestined?

Courage was flickering and so dim as to almost be extinguished and in just the few minutes of watching the map, Gennai had seen Sincerity's vibrant gleam dim just a tad.

Would a group with such problems be able to fight off anything stronger than a single _Rookie_?

Then that group began to move in the opposite direction of the other, motionless one. Gennai closed his eyes and resisted the urge to swear, long and creatively.

Once the man had shoved his emotions to the side, he returned to stoically observing his map, thankful he didn't need much sleep. These first few days would set the tone for the rest of the Destined's time in the Digital World and things couldn't get worse. He just had to alter his machinations to deal with these problems. He could do that. His ancient plans had plenty of flexibility, so long as none of these seven Crests died out.

When, after several hours, Love nearly went out and Sincerity dimmed yet _again_, the ancient observer and planner gave in to the urge to curse until the air turned blue and and break a few of the expandable items in his home. Even after, he was seething. The strongest of the former group had been weaker than Hope was now, with nothing to support him, but the last group had _never_ given Gennai such problems in _all_ their time as this group was within the _first day!_

All would be right in the end, no matter how he had to fix things to get that result. He would _not_ allow it to be otherwise.

The Chosen Children _would_ save the Digital World.

--!--&--&--!--

**AN:** Yay for fast updates! Okay, less action (sorta), but there is character development! Tell me if you think someone's OOC, okay? I need to know so I can fix it! I'm thinking Yamato and Koushiro are the only ones who haven't been hit by the ripple effect of Hikari's kidnapping now…


End file.
